


One Flew Out of the Cuckoo's Nest

by Yosu



Series: Cuckoo's Nest AU [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Gen, Gender Confusion, Hybrids, Major Character Injury, Maria Robotnik lives au, Mobians (Sonic the Hedgehog), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sonic Adventure 2, Space Colony ARK, sa2 but maria is in the ultimate lifeform kinda, shadow FUCKING dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:41:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 23,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23412526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yosu/pseuds/Yosu
Summary: "One flew over the cuckoo’s nest, three geese in a flock. One flew east, one flew west, one flew out of the cuckoo's nest! Goose swoops down and plucks you out."[ SA2 AU- "what if maria survived instead of shadow?" / ultimate lifeform maria ]
Relationships: Maria Robotnik & Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat/Topaz (Sonic X)
Series: Cuckoo's Nest AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735987
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	1. One flew east, One flew west

Maria is sick. She knows that, she’s ill. That’s why she’s on the ARK -- along with Shadow, her grandfather, and other scientists. 

Even if she’s sick -- constantly in pain, constantly heeling over in agony -- she likes the ARK.

Especially Shadow. 

Especially talking to Shadow at pseudo-nighttime. 

“Shadow, what do you think it's like on earth?” Maria asked, to the mobian hedgehog, glancing at the Earth through the thick plexi-glass of the ARK. 

“The professor said his life's work was dedicated to all of those who live down there.” Shadow asked, his voice dark as always. “He once told us that the reason for his existence was, making people happy. Through the power of science.” 

That’s why Shadow was created -- to cure NIDs (and also to find the key to immortality.)

(But most importantly, to cure Maria’s NIDs.)

(Somehow.)

Maria looked at her pseudo-brother, she could always tell something was wrong with him. “Shadow…” She mumbled. 

“Maria... I just don't know anything anymore…” Shadow trailed off, almost trying to hide his discomfort. “I often wonder why I was created; what my purpose is for being here. Maybe if I go down there, I... I will find the answers... maybe, ...Maria…”

Maria nodded, glancing at the hedgehog. “You were created to help others.” She smiled. “You were created by grandfather to help people like me.” Of course, she doesn’t  _ know  _ how a three-foot-tall red and black hedgehog is  _ supposed  _ to cure her neigh-incurable cancer.

But, she has seen grandfather take blood from Shadow --  _ blood that is all white and gelatinous, _ which is very un-Shadow-y.

So perhaps her disease would be cured via blood transfusion? How roundabout. 

For a couple of minutes, they simply just sit in front of the Earth.

And then they go to bed. (Or atleast, Maria does. She’s not even sure if Shadow can even  _ sleep _ .)

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“Maria.” Shadow says sharply. Which wakes Maria up at a very early hour (or however early, she’s not exactly what time it is on the ARK. “Wake up.”

It’s a few days after their conversation in front of the Earth, she notes.

She rubs her eyes --  _ not a good idea, she knows --  _ and yawns. She sits up. “...Yes, Shadow?” Maria yawns, standing up -- wearing a pink nightgown. “What’s wrong?”

“N-” Shadow is cut off by some loud  _ bang _ , which sends a chill down Maria’s spin. “Nothing,” as he zips over to Maria and grabs her hand. “We need to get to the Research Facility.”

Maria is not used to going fast. She’s also not used to  _ running  _ in general. 

She’s also not used to running from  _ people with guns and Shadow tries to hastily fied the Research Facility. _

She doesn’t know why strange men are on the ARK. Maria doesn’t know why they have  _ guns and are threatening to shoot Shadow. _

Thank god, they ran into the Facility room unscathed. Immediately as they enter, Shadow slams his fist to lock and close the door. 

Which doesn’t last long as Shadow pushes Maria into the center of the room -- which doesn’t hurt but it definitely  _ scares  _ her.

“Shadow!” She squeaks. “What’s going on!?”

(It clicks in her head that it’s the government hurting the people on the ARK -- G.U.N.. The people supporting grandfather.)

The black and red hedgehog is going fast, which is something Maria doesn’t see him  _ do  _ often. He’s clearly exhausted. He’s clearly panicked.

(So is Maria.)

And then she notices something  _ horrible- _

Shadow was already shot. In the chest -- thick, white blood stains the hedgehog’s ebony fur. Maria’s amazed she didn’t notice it til  _ now _ . It was probably the panic that made her simply not see it.

And she’s horrified.

She hears a loud bang --  _ at the door.  _ And Maria’s heart nearly stops. “ _ Get them before they escape! _ ” She hears a man’s voice-- a man she’s never  _ heard  _ before. Was he a G.U.N. soldier?

Another blast --  _ which hurts Maria’s ears so bad --  _ which indents the door, which causes Shadow to grab something from a generic metallic cabinet. It’s the blood bags, which is the same as the blood on Shadow’s chest.

He throws it at her, as he runs to the control panel. Maria thankfully catches it.

“Shadow!” She yells at the Hedgehog.

The hedgehog leans onto the computer terminal -- clearly, his wounds are… Maria doesn’t want to think about that, about Shadow…

Shadow slaps a random button -- or maybe it’s not random, but Maria doesn’t know.

And that’s when a capsule closes down over her.

Maria starts to sob. Why is this happening to her? What did she do to deserve this? What did grandfather do?

What did Shadow do to deserve to die?

“What?!” Maria yells in between a sob.

The hedgehog breathes and starts becoming clearly weaker. His body slowly becomes limp. She hates this. “Maria... I… please,”

“Shadow...! Please!” 

“Do it for me…” Shadow's voice becomes weak, and he starts to pause. “For all the people... on that planet…” He grabs the lever, to save Maria. To send her to earth with the experimental cure to her NIDs. 

“Sayonara, Maria Robotn…” Shadow falls to the ground, as the G.U.N. soldier breaks into the Facility.

Shadow is dead. Which simply makes her sob more as the capsule leaves the ARK.

How could she leave Shadow behind?

How could she leave grandfather behind?

And everything goes black.

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆


	2. Project TERIOS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story begins, with who's gonna win  
> Knowing the danger that lies within

Invading a secret, military base is quite  _ literally  _ Eggman’s forte. Plus, harassing the government is another plus -- especially since he’s getting the “strongest weapon in the base”.

At the Level 7 security door, Eggman an access panel lights up and the door opens. Eggman steps through, walking towards a terminal with a small holograph of a hedgehog on it.]

“Oh-ho! So this is the military's top-secret weapon.” He types into the terminal -- the first screen however was a vitals screen.

> PROJECT NAME: ?
> 
> GENDER: FEMALE
> 
> HEIGHT: 4’3
> 
> WEIGHT: --?

And of course, the rest of the vitals information going into simply and mere “DATA UNKNOWN”.

“It's a lot smaller than I expected.” For an ultimate weapon it -- or she? -- was quite  _ short _ . 

What greeted him next was a user login screen.

“Hmm, ‘enter user data’... ah, enter password.” Eggman smiled, recalling said password. “Password is: 'MA-RI-A’ -- Maria! Now all I have to do is to place the Chaos Emerald into this console.” Which of course, he takes the Chaos Emerald -- the green one to be exact -- into the center console.

With the introduction of the emerald into the console -- the mechanical pillar rises from the ground, cold air shooting out -- this is what contains the tiny ultimate weapon.

“Oh-ho!!” Eggman laughs, until he sees the weapon rise from the pillar.

A short… hedgehog? The mobian had spikey hair… very similar to the doctors arch-rival. The being glances down to Eggman, with distinctive emerald eyes.

“What's that? Is that you, Sonic?! Are you trying to spoil my plans again?!” The being --  _ the girl,  _ stepped forward -- revealing the Ultimate Weapons full form. A slim, young  _ human _ -esque hedgehog, with the only true features being two short blonde spiked-ears upon a messy head of red- and blonde hair.

She wore a black, short sleeved bodysuit with a loose blue crop top over it. In addition to that, she wore white gloves with black cuffs and red tongue, and shoes which, like her gloves, have black cuffs and red tongues. On each of her wrists and ankles, she wears a single gold ring.

“Wait a minute…” Eggman pauses, in surprise. “You're not Sonic! This is impossible!”

The female jumped down to Eggman, upon closer inspection --  _ she was mostly human,  _ with hedgehog-ish features. How… strange. 

This was his grandfather’s last creation?

“My name is Terios.” It- She-  _ Terios  _ answers. “Terios the Hedgehog. You were so kind to release me, doctor… I will grant you one wish.”

An alarm started blaring, clearly for the ultimate weapon -  _ Terios’  _ \- release. Eggman should’ve probably dealt with any G.U.N. or government robots coming in. However, hindsight  _ is  _ a bitch. 

Thankfully, he had enough firepower to deal with anything.

What came down was something that Eggman was  _ not  _ really prepared to defeat single-handedly. The B-3x Hot Shot.

An upgraded version F-6t Big Foot, a robot that Eggman already had  _ enough  _ trouble taking down.

“Now what?!” Eggman snaps at the blonde, who was now grabbing the Chaos Emerald from the console. Of course, from his prior experiences with hedgehogs and Chaos Emeralds, there needed to be  _ seven  _ of the emeralds for anything to actually happen.

Then again, Terios was so  _ unlike  _ any hedgehog Eggman has ever seen.

Terios gave an expressionless look, as she held the chaos emerald outwards towards the security drone. “Behold the true power I possess.” 

“ **Chaos Control!** ”

In a split second (Eggman notes that with his egg walker clock barely changed. Scary.), the B-3x Hot Shot was nothing more than a bisected pile of scrap metal -- with a sparking of green energy glittering off the bisection cuts. 

“There.” Terios said to Eggman.

“Destroying that guard robot was spectacular!” Eggman praised, despite even sure what Terios  _ did _ , although bisecting a G.U.N. drone is amazing on it’s own. “So Terios, YOU are the military's top-secret weapon. But what did you mean when you said you would grant me a wish?”

“Bring more Chaos Emeralds.” Terios said, as she glanced back at Eggman, her eyes looking  _ hollow _ . 

Were all weapons of mass destruction like this? Was Terios even  _ designed  _ with emotions in consideration?

That was when the hedgehog began to walk away. Her shoes making thick  _ clicks  _ upon the metal ground.

“Terios, wait!” Eggman called out.

The girl stopped, to glance back at him. Her face seemed to show  _ some  _ emotion -- some emotion Eggman couldn’t describe.

Some… weird fusion of regret and anger. Still, there was something in her face that Eggman couldn’t describe.

“I'll be waiting for you, in the central control room,” She paused, her emerald eyes growing dark, “on the Space Colony ARK.”

“ARK?!” That was something Eggman hasn’t heard in years especially after… the incident.

Well, considering Terios was created by his grandfather, but how did she know about the ARK?

Did Terios know about Shadow?  About Maria?


	3. City Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (insert lyrics from city escape here)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yea this is just an au adaption rewrite of sa2..

Sonic was not having a good day. For one, getting arrested by the government sucked. It sucks  _ harder  _ when you’re getting arrested for a completely unrelated crime  _ he didn’t even do.  _

Which is exactly what he’s going through. In a government helicopter, for a crime some  _ other  _ hedgehog did. Sonic would call that complete and utter speciesism.

“Sigma-Alpha 2 heading due south over the city…” Sonic overheard the soldier guarding him.

Pilot nodded. Kinda shitty design to let Sonic see the pilot. He barely even had any restraints! “ _ We're en route, everything's a go. _ ” The pilot spoke into the mic.

“ _ This is the control tower. We have you on radar. Report cargo status of captured hedgehog aboard, over! _ ” The control tower associate asked, obviously referring to the  _ framed  _ blue blur. Which of course meant that this is where Sonic would hop off.

“That's a 10-4.” The pilot answered, as Sonic ‘took’ out the other guards (a mere homing attack did the trick, plus it just left them unconscious).

(At least he… hoped it wasn’t that lethal to humans.)

“Cargo secured and…” The pilot said, trailing off noticing the blue hedgehog's actions. “What?!” 

“ _ Didn't copy that, over! _ ” The associate asked, yelling loud enough for Sonic to hear.

“The hedgehog's gone, he's taken out everyone aboard and-” The pilot yelled, helpless to the sheer  _ epicness  _ of Sonic ready to burst out of the copter.

“ _ What's wrong! Come in, over! _ ”

Pilot stood, probably letting the copter go into auto-pilot. 

(Heh. Funny.)

“What in the world!?” The pilot yelled as Sonic busts out of the helicopter, and grabbing onto it -- He was totally ready to use it as a snowboard. “Freeze! What do you think you're doing!? Get that hedgehog!” The pilot continued as he… pulled out a gun? How lethal.

He was, of course, not having it. Hopping on top of the helicopter door. “Talk about low budget flights, no food or movies… I'm outta here! I like running  _ better _ !” 

And that’s when he jumped out. 

> ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Running threw… San Francisco, Sonic guessed, was tiring. And Sonic usually doesn’t  _ get  _ tired. Well, usually Sonic isn’t trying to run from the  _ government _ . 

“This game of tag is boring! I'm outta here!” The blue blur doesn’t usually muse out loud  _ either _ , that’s something Amy or Tails does. 

That’s when a… robot crashed down. Sonic’s used to fighting robots. He’s used to fighting  _ Egghead’s  _ robot. 

This was a government robot. Not something he usually  _ fights _ , but he’s always definitely ready to do so. 

“Ha!” Sonic laughed. “Finally decided to show up, eh? Okay, bring it o-”

Sonic is a fast person. Fastest thing alive, in fact. Not many people are faster than him.

And whatever just  _ split the big ass G.U.N. robot in half _ , might just be as fast as Sonic. Which is a terrifying thought, considering the second fastest thing Sonic faced was a metal version of _him_.

Sonic glanced upwards at his pseudo hero. An androgynous red n yellow hedgehog… human hybrid? Wearing a black bodysuit, with a blue tank top and… soap shoes? “What?”

The hedgehog gave a smirk, holding out… the green and first chaos emerald!?

Was this  _ shmuck  _ the jackass that robbed the bank and  _ framed  _ Sonic!?

The hedgehog inspected the emerald. “It all begins with this…” He began as he bemused at the emerald. “This gem, containing the ultimate power…” That’s when he jumps down.

“That's the... Chaos Emerald!” Sonic yelled out, walking towards the… could Sonic even call the thief a  _ fellow  _ hedgehog? “Now I know what's going on! The military has mistaken me for the likes of you!” Now he’s just stating his thoughts. “So...where do you think you're going with that Emerald!?”  _ That’s  _ when he starts running toward the… the…

The faker!

“Say something! You...  _ fake  _ hedgehog!” That sounded like a good enough insult. Especially considering... the other hedgehog was _seemingly_ a half hedgehog and half human hybrid.

“Chaos Control!” The faker says quickly… and… nearly teleport past… on top of the building above Sonic?

_ That  _ surprised Sonic. “Wow… you’re fast!” it's not his speed. “You… you’re using the Chaos Emerald to warp!”

The hedgehog smiled. “My name is Terios... I'm the world's ultimate… weapon!” He… Terios introduced. What a mysterious name. “There's no time for games… farewell.” Terios then used that… chaos control thing to… warp away in a flash of emerald green light.

Which blinded Sonic temporarily. "Kuu! Terios...what the  _ hell  _ is he?” He moans as he opens his eyes… which

As he opened his eyes, he was suddenly surrounded by G.U.N.

He could  _ not  _ catch a break today, could he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small note:  
> Sonic only uses he/him for Terios (who uses she/her) for very simply reasons:  
> Terios is fairly androgynous for her age (15) and because of the low light of the scenery, looks pretty masculine.  
> (Eggman would've done the same if hadnt already saw her being labeled as female)


	4. No Rain

_ Day after Sonic’s arrest / Terios’ escape _

_ 11:08 Desert area _

Rouge is two things:

> 1 - A  _ very  _ respected treasure hunter. The jewels of the world are  _ hers _ , after all. Why not go after the big center piece of her collection -- the  _ Master Emerald  _ of myth?
> 
> 2 - An equally respected agent of the highest government official in the US.

At first, it sounds like an oxymoron:  _ a thief and an agent of the president _ . Thankfully, Rouge is living that. Plus, it helps, given that she  _ is  _ helping in the investigation into the missing weapon that Eggman stole - Project Terios, the apparent  _ ultimate  _ weapon.

But now is not the time for the very interesting lore that is hers truly.

She was now in a  _ very heated  _ argument with a  _ very  _ annoying echidna -- who’s APPARENTLY the guardian of  _ her  _ prize.

“Just... let it go!” Rouge snapped to the guardian. “You just don't know  _ when  _ to give up, do you?”

The red echidna gave a very disgruntled look. “What're you talkin' about- that Emerald's mine! You got that?” The boy paused, “The Master Emerald contains special powers that neutralize the energy of the Chaos Emeralds; that makes it very powerful --” 

Knuckles pauses, allowing Rouge to see the true horror at hand:

Some… egg shaped man in a weird contraption ship  _ thingy  _ was flying towards them.

“What the?!” The echidna yelled.

Rouge could only describe what happened next as follows.

The Egg… man(?) Flew down, and uses a crane attached under his machine to grab the Master Emerald, and pull it up.

To put it simply: Rouge is  _ horrified. _

“Wha -- thief!!” She squealed,  _ very  _ ready to fly up to the pompous man and slap him to high heaven.

The echidna was clearly just as ready to brawl. “Look who's calling who a thief.”

_ Jerk. _

“I came here following the signal from the Emerald.” The man, his voice squeaky and unfitting of his age. “If I'm not mistaken, this  _ is  _ the Master Emerald, is it not?”

“Doctor Eggman…” The echidna growled.

_ So that's Doctor Eggman.  _ Befitting her status as a secret agent, Rouge was assigned to track the doctor to see  _ where _ he put the ultimate weapon.

Funny how things work.

The scientist laughed. “Well, I guess I  _ can  _ use it for something. I'll just take it with me.” A pause for another laugh. “Farewell,  _ Knucklehead _ .” The scientist said mockingly.

Rouge now realized that she never caught the  _ name  _ of the echidna. That’ll be first on her agenda with the doctor -- well, actually second.

  1. Project Terios [Plus: info on what the _hell_ a project Terios is.]
  2. Who exactly the echidna guy
  3. Why Sonic was suddenly stealing emeralds [possible ally of the doctor?]



“Not if I can help it!” The echidna yelled, and did something that absolutely HORRIFIED her.

The “knucklehead” jumped up to the Master Emerald and  _ shattered it. _

All Rouge could do was scream in horror.

She paused for a moment, and then grabbed the horrible  _ monster _ .

“What was that all about?!” She snapped. “And look what you did to my Emerald!”

God! It was everywhere! Broken shards of  _ her  _ master emerald!

The echidna pushed her hands off. Well tried. 

“I did that to prevent it from being stolen, you idiot!” He snapped. “If it's in pieces,  _ I  _ can restore it. And by the way, that's not YOUR Emerald.” The boy falsely corrected.

All the doctor did was scratch his head. Despite his apparent  _ 300 iq,  _ he doesn’t seem all that… bright. “Hmm... doesn't matter. I'll look into it once I get back to the base.” The doctor floated off.

She better catch him, considering her mission.

First things first, however.

“I despise  _ anyone  _ who takes jewels from me.” She said coldly to the total  _ monster _ , gem shattering dolt. “All the world's gems are  _ mine  _ to keep!”

“Yeah, well we'll see about  _ that _ , bat girl!”

Oh, she was  _ totally  _ going to kick his ass.

> ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Rouge was a very good tracker. And thankfully, she managed to track Eggman.

And this secret ‘base’ was none other than a god forsaken  _ pyramid  _ thirty miles away from the master emerald and the horrific shattering of it.

And thankfully, Eggman hadn’t noticed her. Nor did Eggman’s machinery.

Rouge found him in front of a computer monitor and terminal. How pleasant.

“With the Chaos Emeralds…” The doctor clicked a shiny, red emerald… oh, she was jealous. “In the Space Colony ARK. Hmm…” He trailed. “I've  _ got  _ to find out just what's going on up there.”

Eggman types into the terminal for the computer, starting up a news report. Very helpful for Rouge.

The reporter began. “ _ We interrupt this broadcast for an important newsflash _ .” The women began, showing security drone footage. “ _ There has been another break-in at the second federal-reserve bank today. Mysteriously, the only thing that was stolen was-- _ ” Despite being recorded, Eggman slammed his fists into the terminal.

“--The Chaos Emerald?!” He shouted.

“ _ the Chaos Emerald. _ ” The woman ‘answered’ the doctor. A flash to the top of the golden gate bridge. “ _ According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the suspect was identified as the world-renowned hero, Sonic the Hedgehog _ .”

There it showed… the shadow of a hedgehog -- no signifying details that it was Sonic. There was something… un-Sonic-y about the being. It wasn’t the same as the first news report yesterday.

Was it too feminine about it? It was… weird. 

“ _ The suspect was seen fleeing the scene, destroying the reserve's guard robots in his path. Stay tuned for more details. _ ”

“Sounds more like the work of Terios!” That’s when Eggman teleported out.

That was… a strange comment to make.

She flew down once she knew that Eggman was gone. Rouge clicked through tabs of the terminal. “The destination has been set to... ARK?” He did… mention that earlier, come to think of it. “Isn’t that space colony shut down, over fifty years ago? What's he doing up there, anyway?” She shook her head, swirling herself onto the transporter.

For being an agent, she wasn’t exactly up to date on the going ons of G.U.N., but she knew that the ARK shut down was a… well, it was a total bloodbath. 48 out of the 50 people on the colony  _ died  _ that day. 

(The two survivors being the head scientist Gerald Robotnik, who was killed by firing squad a year later. The other being Gerald’s granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, which no one has even  _ seen  _ in fifty years.)

“Doesn't matter. It's my mission to find out what he's up to!”

And then it activates. (That’s good for Rouge.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im the ceo of "rouge being a spy shouldve been made obvious rather than a weird plot twist"  
> i love sa2. but cmon :(
> 
> also i love writing rouge shes so fun


	5. The Darkside

The transport to the ARK was quite easy, all things considered. The colony was  _ quiet _ , which was eerie. Thankfully, Eggman found Terios quickly -- in the control room, in front of a… towering console with seven indents. 

Strange.

Terios was there, which helps for Eggman -- considering he doesn’t even  _ know  _ what the tower console was. “I've been waiting for you, Doctor.” The girl turns away from him, to the console, clicking onto the keyboard -- which was quite retro, nothing like the modern tech Eggman was used to. “Now, I will show the glorious achievement of what the world's leading scientist - my g…” Terios cuts herself off and pauses, and Eggman notes how her voice sounds… sad? 

What a strange girl, and especially, what a strange  _ weapon _ . Sometimes she’s robotic and emotionless, like how she acted on the golden gate bridge. And sometimes, she’s seemingly regretful for… something.

“What my  _ creator _ , Professor Gerald has created.” She finishes, as the device boots up. “The ARK was the first space colony created by mankind. Not many people know that the ARK contained a top-secret research facility,” Terios explains, quite knowledgeable on the subject,, “where weapons of mass destruction were being created. This is one of them; a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. Codenamed-” She pauses, which Eggman guesses is for dramatic effect.

"The Eclipse Cannon.”

_ Destroying an entire planet...? _ That was surprising. “Was this my grandfather's legacy?” Eggman asked. Unlike him, Gerald Robotnik was a peacekeeper -- such as creating the prototype for Terios: Shade (or something like that) as a cure for degenerative  _ cancer _ … 

“But, it's been deactivated for some time now…” Terios answered. She then tosses the chaos emerald into one of the seven indents. The tower pulsed, like a living being. Like… an organ. “In order to reactivate it... large amounts of energy are necessary.” She explained.

That’s the  _ a-ha!  _ moment for Eggman. Such a roundabout way for a machine to be used! “Oh, so that's why we needed the Chaos Emerald.”

“Precisely.” Terios nodded. “To reactivate the machine, we need the Chaos Emeralds… all seven of them. Once you have that, then you have the ultimate power of destruction, to use as you please. And then…” She paused, which is something she does a  _ lot,  _ “the world could be yours.”

Eggman gave a belly laugh. “Sounds like a plan! I like the way you think, Terios! I will get the Chaos Emeralds, use the machine to dominate the world and build a legacy of my  _ own _ !” He said in a boast… which seemed to make Terios happy as well. 

Which was also the first time he’s ever seen her relatively happy. (Then again, he’s only known her for… what,  _ three days? _ )

“Do you really think it will be that easy?” An obscured female voice rang from…  _ somewhere  _ in the ARK. Eggman glanced up, as well as Terios to see-

The bat girl! From before! She was still wearing the black bodysuit with the heart breastplate, as well as matching white and pink opera gloves and knee high boots. Plus, still having short curly white hair and black bat wings.

The girl jumped down, to Eggman and Terios’ level. “I've got a  _ great  _ idea!” She said, with a smile as she clapped her hands together. “How about making a deal?”

“A... deal?” Eggman repeats, looking at the bat.

“When you grabbed that huge Emerald, you said something about a reaction; a reaction that it may have with the Master Emerald.” The bat girl explained, smiling at both of them. “ _ Now _ , if you could just let me borrow that radar, I may be able to help you…” She smirked. “What  _ do  _ you think?”

Terios nearly speaks, although this  _ deal  _ intrigues Eggman… so silences her with a mere shush. “If I do... what's in it for us?”

“I have an idea where the other Chaos Emeralds may be.” That’s intriguing! And very helpful for Eggman and Terios’ plan. “I may not look like it, but do you know that I am a treasure hunter that specializes in all kinds of jewels?”

The bat girl pulls out a Chaos Emerald. Which is… quite appealing, to Eggman. He glances at Terios’ who’s… nodding to the other girls terms. Which is good.

“Very well.”

The girl smiles. “Okay then, it's a deal. I don't think we've been introduced.” The girl holds out a hand -- probably for a handshake. “I'm Rouge the Bat. But, you can call me Rouge. It’ll be a pleasure doing work with you, gentlemen.”

Eggman took Rouge’s gloved hand. “I’m Doctor Robotnik but… many call me Doctor Eggman.”

Terios simply just glanced at Rouge. “I’m Terios.” She pauses. “I’m not a ‘gentlemen’, Rouge.”

Eggman notes Rouge's surprised expression at Terios… probably at the reveal that the weapon was a girl. Even the scientist admits that the girl wasn’t the… most feminine woman out there.

No matter that.

This was the beginning of a  _ wonderful  _ alliance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> terios is fun 2 write :)


	6. Weapon Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THOUGHTS (?) FROM THE KID GENIUS:  
> There's no mistake about it, this must be the island. It's a secret military base that is reinforced and super strong!
> 
> It's called Prison Island. I heard the news about it on satellite TV. I still can't believe that Sonic would destroy the military buildings or rob the bank! Twice!
> 
> Wait for me, OK Sonic! ...I'm on my way! 
> 
> What? Hey, look it's Amy! And Eggman too! What's Amy doing here? Doesn't matter. I have to help Amy because she's in danger! 
> 
> Tornado… transformation!

Prison Island was the  _ last  _ place Rouge wanted to be. On one hand, it’s for the mission (especially on understanding why Terios is a  _ teenage girl _ and why G.U.N. confused  _ her  _ for Sonic). On the other, it’s G.U.N. territory, and G.U.N.  _ isn’t  _ allied with the president.

“Having to come back isn't my idea of a vacation!” Eggman snapped, obviously referring to his past crime of stealing Terios. “How can you be sure your intelligence reports are correct? Why would the Chaos Emeralds be here on the island? Are you absolutely sure?!”

Rouge rolled her eyes. Being in contact with the president was a plus, given that’s her main confidant in all of this. “Well, believe what you wanna believe.” She groaned.

Eggman nodded. “Hmm, very well. Very well. Let's discuss how we are going to do this. I will go in first and distract the military troops, allowing you to sneak in the base without being detected.” He paused.

“Then, Terios will…” He glanced at the teenage girl weapon, “enter the armory, where she will set the timer on these dynamite packs. Once that is in place, we will blow up the whole island before anyone has a chance to know what hit them!” 

“Affirmative.” Terios said, as she gave a nod in response.

“Meanwhile,” Eggman said, looking into Rouge’s direction as he hopped into the egg-walker, “you will sneak into the cargo area and grab the Chaos Emeralds. That's a challenge for such a worthy treasure hunter as yourself, isn't it bat-girl?”

Rouge salutes, and winks at him. “Gotcha, doc.”

“We only have thirteen minutes to pull this mission off, and we only get one try; so don't fail me!” Eggman says, which was the immediate cue for the trio to leave in their separate directions.

> ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ (EGGMAN)

Eggman is very prepared. Thankfully, he has a living weapon as a miniature nuke/bodyguard. That was also a total and definitely a boost in confidence. 

“Okay, everyone ready? Terios,” He says as he glances at the hedgehog entering the weapons bed, “Rouge, on with the show!”

Luck is a weird thing. Because as Terios was entering the facility, that pink  _ rat _ that’s infatuated with Sonic... hugs the weapon. Probably mistaking Terios for said blue nuisance. 

Clearly, the ultimate weapon wasn’t exactly all that comfortable with having her… er, chest being touched by the other girl. (Eggman wonders if this is the first time Terios has ever _been_ hugged.)

“Oh, Sonic!” The girl squeed, eyes closed to the revelation that she was hugging a completely unrelated hedgehog. “I thought I'd never see you again! I'm so glad you got out!”

That’s of course, when Terios turns around, which causes Amy to back up.

Eggman’s big question is how the hell someone could confuse a fully clothed hybrid like Terios for nude blue menace like Sonic.

The girl gasped in horror. “...You're not Sonic, who the heck are you?!” She squeaked. Eggman’s first reaction to her squeaking, was to point one his numerous guns on the egg-walker towards her. 

“I'm the one who should be asking  _ that  _ question!” 

“Doctor Eggman?!” Amy exclaimed, which was then followed by a scream, which was also accompanied by her running off.

This was not helping. How atrocious. 

“Gah, Amy, your timing is impeccable!” Eggman said sarcastically, glancing down to Terios, who was clearly shocked. Then again, she was frozen for fifty years -- she must’ve never been hugged like that. No less by another  _ girl _ . “Listen to me; I'll take care of her, you go on ahead!” 

Eggman didn’t make sure that Terios was going inside the base. That didn’t exactly matter at the moment - as he was now walking over to Amy, who was stopped at the tail end of the ship.

“Give up, Amy!” The scientist barked.

Luck was still an interesting thing. Because as the pink hedgehog considered her actions (one which may have been jumping off the weapons bed and swimming to safety), the blue menace’s  _ sidekick  _ decided to join in between them. Now in a weaponized Tornado -- but now, extremely similar to the egg walker.

(Eggman might sue for plagiarism.) 

“Boy, am I glad to see you!” Amy said in joy (which was annoying to Eggman).

The fox, reading his own weapons, glared at Eggman. “Stand back, Amy!”

(Totally going to sue now.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i miss my wife tails. i miss her a lot


	7. Prison Island Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I got out my map and chose a place I wanted to go to  
> (Packed up my stuff, set out for adventure)  
> I know that your lucky color is that cool shade of blue"

Amy Rose is not a violent person. Well, there were exceptions -- like with the Station Square incident two years ago, but that didn’t matter  _ now _ . Eggman is a serious threat, which is why when Amy  _ does  _ fight, she avoids any contact with the doctor.

And now, that hedgehog… human… hybrid...  _ whatever,  _ is on that list, too. Didn’t matter if the… y’know, was a girl either. Especially after hugging her and touching the… y’know. That embarrassed death glare was enough for Amy to want nothing to do with the girl. Plus, the girl was in kahoots with  _ Eggman. _ That was a problem enough.

Well. Anyways. Thankfully, Tails is a  _ very  _ decent and better fighter than Amy. Especially, weirdly, when in a mech. Especially when fighting Eggman.

“This time, I'll let you go. But the next time we meet... you won't be so lucky!” The mad scientist  _ jerk  _ says as he makes his exit.

Jeez. The guy probably never was hugged as a kid, Amy thinks.

“Wow Tails, you did it!” She congratulates, although Amy has  _ always  _ been impressed with the boy genius. “But what are  _ you  _ doing here on this island?”

Tails gave an annoyed look. “I'm the one who should be asking that question! Don't you know it's dangerous here?” He chastised.

Amy gave a cheeky smile. “I know, but… I'm here to save my hero, Sonic!”

“Again?” Tails groaned.

Of course, there’s no time for Amy to respond to that. “Hurry! I know Eggman's up to no good again!”

“OK, you stay here and I'll be right back!” Tails orders as he leaves for the mission base.

Amy of course, disobeys him. “Hey! Don't leave without me! I wanna help Sonic too!” Which of course, Amy follows behind the fox boy.

> ｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Amy thanks her lucky stars she found Sonic quickly, who was pacing around his cell -- which had writing on it. Actually it had… a  _ lot  _ of writing on it. The pink hedgehog knows Sonic like the back of her hand, and she  _ knows  _ Sonic didn’t write all that gibberish.

Sonic finally catches notice of her. Which is something Amy likes greatly. “Huh, Amy?” He calls out, loudly. 

“Shhh! Keep your voice down!” Amy hushed. She  _ was  _ trying to break him out. “But, have no fear, Amy Rose is here!” She announced confidently and… also in a hushed voice. 

He raised an eyebrow. Well, furr-brow. “How did  _ you  _ get here?”

Amy smirked, holding out a keycard that she… well, stolen. “Well, if you gotta know… I caught a ride with Tails!” Which was a lie. She got there on her own volition… also, she came in her car. It’s a long story. “Are you sure  _ you  _ don't need my help? It looks like you could use it.” 

“The reason I'm in here is because of that fake hedgehog!” Sonic groans. He seems pretty worked up about it. Which is understandable.

Amy tries to think of anyone that's a fake hedgehog unless… Sonic is talking about that girl with Eggman. “You mean that blonde girl?” She asks.

“Did you see- wait, that menace is a chick?” The fastest thing alive shook his head. “That doesn't matter. Where is she now?”

“If I tell you,” She laughs, “will you marry me?” Amy’s whole plan  _ was  _ to become Sonic’s one and only. Of course, this time, it was mostly a joke.

...Mostly.

“No way!” Sonic squawked. 

“I thought I had you this time!” She laughs as she Slides the keycard to unlock Sonic's cell. And of course, Sonic walks out. “...That girl came here with Dr. Eggman. What’s her name by the way?” She explains and asks.

“So,  _ Eggman's  _ behind this.” Sonic responded. His expression looking quite annoyed.

“By the way- what's all that writing on the wall anyway? Did you write that?” Amy asks, of course looking back at Sonic and-

Sonic has… run off. 

“Wait for me Sonic!” Amy calls after him, trailing behind. “Jeez! He's such a brat!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> amy is older in this (like. 15-ish. shes not 12 like in canon which is... sus...)  
> she touched the edgelord yiddies...


	8. The Good, The Bad, The Fast, and The Faker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Found you, faker!

Terios is a weapon. She’s known that -- even before being put into cryostasis. Ever since the… incident, on the ARK, she was molded into a weapon. It’s so weird now… everything felt like it was just last month. But in reality it was 50 years ago.

She wonders what Shadow would think of her now, especially if he lived. Would he still see her as Maria? Would he still see her as the innocent, terminally sick girl with a kind heart?

Terios doesn’t even see herself as Maria, even if that is who technically she is. She doesn’t even see her as the proclaimed  _ second Ultimate Lifeform.  _

That was Shadow. Shadow was the Ultimate Lifeform -- who was created, lived, and died on the ARK. Maria was… no, no. She was not Maria. Not anymore, at least. She was… called Terios now, and that name made her nothing more than a weapon of war.

Her radio beeped. Bringing her out of her somewhat depressed trance.

“ _ This is Rouge. I've got a small problem… _ ” The treasure hunter spoke, her voice embarrassed. “ _ I can't believe that I'm trapped inside this locked safe with the Chaos Emeralds! I guess I won't be able to call myself a treasure hunter anymore… _ ”

Terios dropped the dynamite pack in hand, which was set at 9 minutes till detonation. She almost was tempted to leave Rouge behind. The bat was nothing more than collateral damage, not at all related to her end goal. Her  _ true  _ end goal.

Pause.

She thought of Shadow. At the console. Helpless. Alone.

And he died there. Shadow lived his entire life on the ARK, he protected Terios only just to... die alone there.

> _ He protected you.  _
> 
> _ Do the same.  _
> 
> _ You promised him revenge.  _
> 
> _ Rouge had nothing to do with the ARK massacre.  _
> 
> _ She is innocent. _

It was weird still having a conscience. Terios had thought she lost it 50 years ago, along with her life.

She had a job to do. And so… she continued into the jungle.

And of all the people she ran into… it was that blue jerk she met in San Francisco. 

“Hey, that's-” The hedgehog began.

She puffed her chest. “That boy again, of all places!” She’s not really used to saying  _ hedgehog  _ again, given the only one she knew was Shadow. 

“I found you,  _ faker _ !” The hedgehog insulted -- Sonic? She remembered that's what that pink hedgehog said.

“Faker?” Terios repeated. “I think you're the  _ fake  _ hedgehog around here. You're comparing yourself to me? Hah! You're not even good enough to be my  _ fake _ .”

Although technically, Terios is a fake hedgehog. Enhanced with Shadow’s blood, to be the ultimate weapon, neither human nor mobian -- but, for a moment, she felt that was something he would say. And Terios  _ is  _ enacting his will, so…

Terios does remember it’s 2001 -- last she was awake (which is a weird thing for her to think about), it was 1951. So it was up in the air on who was faking who in the situation.

“I'll make you eat those words!” Sonic yelled, as he dash attacked into her.

Fighting was new to her. She wasn’t used to kicking or punching, but she did what she  _ could  _ \-- mostly trying to warp away with her chaos emerald (that she had yet to put into the eclipse canon).

But, she’s never really punched someone before. Sonic sharply kicks her in the ribs, which she manages to suffer through. She of course uses the chaos emerald to warp away to higher branches.

“Fight like a real hedgehog!” The other hedgehog barked. “C’mon, mano e mano!”

Terios remembers that she’s only  _ vaguely  _ been trained in combat. It was quite bad for a weapon to not know how to properly fight… like at that, uh, Radical Highway thing where... 

Well, she only used her chaos emerald to over power the police force -- same with that robot that was going to hurt her cousin… this situation was different, of course.

She teleports down, although Terios doesn’t know what she’ll exactly  _ do _ . That of course, leaves her open for Sonic to curl up into a ball and… spin attack her in the gut.

Terios is quite glad she doesn’t eat food anymore. Because she’s sure she would’ve vomited.

It’s not a pleasant feeling. A sharp pain in her stomach, almost immediately followed by her stumbling into the foliage of the jungle. 

But she’s felt worse.

She attempts to copy the hedgehog’s technique -- well, keyword attempt. Terios is nowhere near as  _ short  _ or as  _ flexible _ like Sonic, so she’s not really able to curl up into a ball. So it’s more a jump kick with a semi curl to it

...But that’s semantics. 

It seemed the kick to the ribs was enough to wind Sonic, which Terios was pleased with. 

She glanced at the dynamite… which read 00:01:25. 

As Sonic and Teries breath heavily from the one-sided battle, her radio began to beep.

It was… her cousin, Ivo. Eggman, Terios mentally corrects. She is now Maria, and Eggman would never view her as such. “ _ Terios?! What are you doing?! Get back here right now before the island blows up with  _ **_you_ ** _ on it! _

“Blows up!?” Sonic squaked.

Terios looks at the hedgehog, runs off. 

With the dynamite at 00:00:56, she makes it into the security vault where Rouge is -- which, thank god, the vault was only a couple of steps away from where she fought Sonic. The bat looks so  _ surprised  _ that Terios came, and that’s when Terios grabs her. 

Her heart races.

With Rouge’s gloved hand in hers, her forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and out of breath -- Terios does the one thing she knows how to do  _ well.  _

**“CHAOS CONTROL!”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TERIOS THE HEDGEHOG (Formerly: Maria Robotnik)  
> Age - 15  
> Gender - Female (She/Her)  
> Strong points - Excellent with chaos control  
> With her rocket shoes (a memento from Shadow), she's able to reach extreme speeds.  
> Military trained  
> Weak points - Has a very big inferiority complex  
> Might not show it, but she has a sensitive side  
> Phasmophobia (Fear of ghosts)  
> Likes - Sweet candy, fluffy things, Shadow  
> Dislikes - Bright things, loud noises, guns


	9. Memories of the Cuckoo Nest

Shadow and Maria, standing in front of a window aboard the ARK. A memory Terios has often. Mainly because it’s the last good memory she has, before everything went to hell. Before she lost everything that mattered to her.

“Maria,” The hedgehog asks, “What do you think it's like on earth?”

Terios smiles -- well, Maria at the time. She flops between the two when she thinks of the past. “Grandfather said his life's work was dedicated to all of those who live down there. He once told us that the reason for his existence was, making people happy through the power of science.”

“Maria, I…” Shadow mumbles.

“Shadow... I just don't know anything anymore.” Maria answers. Her memories are mundled now, so she wonders… is this how it went 50 years ago? “I often wonder why I was made like this; what my purpose was for being here. Maybe if I go down there, I…” 

> _ I will find the answers...  _
> 
> _ Maybe…  _
> 
> _...Shadow... _

Terios finds herself in the same room as her memory from years ago. The earth looks so different now. She used to look at it with curiosity and hope, wanting to live with people below. All of the things she wanted to do -- enjoying the sunshine, eating cake, being around people and...

And now all Terios can see is nothing.

“Why so melancholy?” Terios hears Rouge ask.

She does not respond.

Rouge laughed. “That was so unexpected. So unlike you, Terios -- all grungy and quiet -- to come and rescue  _ me _ , a damsel in distress.” What the hell is grunge? “But your ability to use the Chaos Control, little miss, certainly  _ does  _ come in handy.”

Terios blushed. She’s never been… praised like that before. At G.U.N., the scientists never… she can’t think about that now. “Hmm, you know, Rouge... I didn't come to save you. I came back for the Chaos Emeralds.” She groans. “It’s not like I  _ care  _ about you or anything.”

“Yeah, yeah. But then again, that's not the whole story, now, is it?” Rouge jokes. “C’mon, I know there’s a big and loving heart in that dark exterior of yours!”

Terios likes the idea of her still having a heart. She remembers being kind --  _ being  _ Maria, on the ARK. Talking to Shadow, playing with that one little boy… Abraham Towers? She can’t remember. 

Regardless, Terios likes the idea. But that can’t be a reality. She is a weapon… as much as she hates to say that.

A copy of the Ultimate Lifeform.

Of course, she can’t think much of that as Ivo (correction: Eggman) stretches and sighs as he enters the room.

“Everything is ready to go!” He announces.

“Are you sure?” Rouge asks, with caution in her voice. “We only have six of the seven Chaos Emeralds, you know.”

Terios glances at Rouge. “That's more than enough for the demonstration.” Of course, she doesn’t  _ know  _ what her cousin is going to do with the Eclipse Cannon. However, any sort of punishment to the people of earth is fine. Vengeance for Shadow would be  _ hers. _

“So let's get this show on the road!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Terios "music" style would be lo-fi hiphop (like how Rouge has jazz and Sonic has pop rock)
> 
> (so her music style would be stuff akin to stuff like Panchiko's "D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L" or Moe Shop's "Pure Pure")


	10. World Domination

Now that he’s not only broken Sonic out of Prison Island… and also let it explode, Tails is a criminal. Which is a weird thought to him, given he’s stopped literal _world domination_ , since he was the tender age of… 5, give or take? Well, he’s been stopping it since the Death Egg.

But at the moment- he, Amy, and Sonic have been legally branded a _criminal_ by GUN. Which is kinda messed up. Where were _those_ bozos when Little Planet was captured? Or when Perfect Chaos happened? Or when Angel Island fell?

He’s paused in thought when he sees… Eggman is broadcasting a message across on a jumbo screen in Central City where Team Sonic is hiding (Sonic’s been calling their dynamic trio “Team Sonic” since the Station Square debacle.).

“ **Hah, hah, hah! Citizens of earth, I’ve come to make an announcement! My name is Julien Ivo Robotnik… also known as Dr. Eggman, the world's greatest scientist, and soon to be the world's greatest ruler! Now, witness the beginning of the greatest empire of all time!** ” Eggman boasts, on a shitty greenscreen background of his name in several languages-- and Tails is barely able to make out… that hedgehog girl and some bat girl. Makes sense he would have two female cronies, the fox does remember Eggman saying he _was_ a feminist*…

Wait, citizens of earth? Was this being broadcasted globally? 

A quick cut to live footage of a new Death Egg… or, Tails would call it that if it didn’t reveal itself as a Bernal sphere space habitat**. It also looked like Eggman’s face, which meant it was totally made by Eggman.

Which… the “nose” of the satellite opens to reveal a… canon? What in Chaos’ name was Eggman doing?

Another cut to the… moon? Oh no.

Suddenly, the cannon from the habitat fires a blast that destroys half of the moon. 

Tails doesn’t swear often. He doesn’t even _think_ about swearing. Goes against his nature _and_ the morals Sonic taught him (which includes not having premarital sex and not liking government).

But holy shit, what the hell?

Eggman cackles, which Tails used to find _funny_ as a kit-- but now haunting. This is brutal, even for the mad scientist. Another cut -- live footage of a 24 hour countdown.

**23:00:00 HOURS  
UNTIL ECLIPSE CANNON STRIKES EARTH**

“Look, half of the moon is gone!?” Amy cries in horror, her short ears flattening.

Sonic clenches his fist. “Eggman! Chaos... creeps like him never give up!”

Tails is a lot more logical than Sonic. So his way of coping with this tragedy is trying to think first. “But how did he manage to harness all of that energy…?” Plus, when did he make that Bernal sphere…? It seemed old from the footage, much older than the technical marvel that was the Death Egg.

(He may hate Eggman, but the kit can’t deny that the doctor is quite impressive… if only the man wasn’t a total megalomaniac obsessed with authoritarianism.)

Sonic looks at Tails. “It's got to be the Chaos Emeralds... Yeah, that's the reason they were looking for them.” That of course is Tails cue to take out his yellow chaos emerald -- a prize he gained during the Station Square incident for fending off Eggman.

“The Chaos Emeralds are like magnets…” He explains, stating knowledge he had learned from Knuckles. “They have the power to attract each other. If I can use that to find where Eggman is-”

From these disasters that are called his current situation, Tails has learned that G.U.N. Agent have a lovely thing for timing.

“The three of you, FREEZE!” One of them yells, aiming a… what seems to be a tranquiliser. They wouldn’t kill teenagers… at least, Tails hopes they wouldn’t*. “Put your hands in the air and get on the ground!” The officer yells.

“Yo, Tails! I'll take care of the police while you and Amy try to find a way out of Central City! Find Eggman!” Sonic instructs.

Tails quickly nods, getting into his Tornado 2 with Amy. “Got it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Meanwhile- Knuckles is at Pumpkin Hill, a mountainous region near the abandoned Sky Rail theme park...] “This place sure feels haunted... there's no time to lose! I have to hurry and find that Master Emerald!”
> 
> \---
> 
> Notes-  
> *"Makes sense he would have two female cronies, the fox does remember Eggman saying he was a feminist…" - Eggman is a feminist… which is only in the Sonic Heroes manual, which is a mistranslation of "womanizer". I think its funny.  
> **"A quick cut to live footage of a new Death Egg… or, Tails would call it that if it didn’t reveal itself as a Bernal sphere space habitat" - Later on in-game, Tails refers to the ARK as the first "Bernoulli spherical space colony". According to the Sonic wiki: “This is presumably a mistranslation of the Japanese line, in which the ARK is called a Bernal sphere space colony.” What’s a Bernal Sphere? (Form Wikipedia) A Bernal sphere is a type of space habitat intended as a long-term home for permanent residents, first proposed in 1929 by John Desmond Bernal. Interesting stuff.  
> ***"They wouldn’t kill teenagers… at least, Tails hopes they wouldn’t." - Oh Tails... if only you knew...


	11. Tales of the Cuckoo Nest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or, Rouge’s most uncomfortable hour of research in her entire life.

Rouge really hopes the president won’t be all that mad at her for this. Blowing up the moon is a pretty bad thing to do. But, now, she has to go into ‘asshole villain’ mode -- now that Eggman is grumbling about. “Why are you so upset? Well that was really impressive. You managed to create complete havoc on the whole planet! Does this now mean we control the planet and can do as we choose?” She yells to the doctor in a braggadocious way. 

Terios shrugs. “At this rate, the cannon will take too much time to charge up. If you want to unleash its full potential, you'll need all seven Chaos Emeralds.” She explains.

“What in the world are you saying?!” Eggmann barks are the hybrid.

Rouge glances at the girl. “Something happened?” 

“Of course. Our threats fell on deaf ears.” The project answers. which makes the doctor face-palm and grumbled several obscenities.

That makes Rouge laugh. Out of the three of them, Eggman is soooo immature. Especially compared to the living weapon fifthteen year old and the eighteen year old jewel thief. “Look at you, throwing a tantrum like a little kid. How totally embarrassing.” Rouge jokes.

“Don't forget your end of the bargain, Bat-girl! What about that last Chaos Emerald?! We had a deal, right?! So where is my Emerald?” The doctor snaps.

Thankfully, Rouge has exactly what he would want. Rouge holds out a newspaper to Eggman, on a chaos emerald. “Here you go. I found this!”

“Why didn't you show me this before?! What's this...?” He grumbles. "’Station Square saved from a life-threatening missile attack. The city has awarded its famed prize to the boy who saved Station Square... Miles 'Tails' Prower was given the Chaos Emerald as a testament of his heroic deed at a ceremony held at city Hall.’.” The scientist reads, and then clears his throat. “This makes things a whole lot easier. Hurry, go back and find them fast! I want that Chaos Emerald!”

Rouge smiles at Terios. “Did you get that?”

Terios nods. “Soon enough... Shadow…”

The hell?

Rouge has read all the public information on Terios… which isn’t much. In fact, there's barely much on her. However, the prototype to Terios was called and named “Shadow”... which just so happens to be one of the names she saw in the extremely depressing article  _ The Names of all 60 victims of the ARK tragedy.  _

The victim named “Shadow”... the prototype of Terios called “Shadow”... this couldn’t be a coincidence. 

She escapes her thoughts, now noticing Terios and Eggman go into the transporter. When Rouge makes sure the two are gone, she opens her flip-phone and dials her sole confidant in the mess.

That being Ian Flynn and Evan Stanley… aka, Mr. President and his secretary respectively. And thankfully, Mr. President picks.

“This is Agent Rouge Baton reporting.” She greets. 

“ _ I… see. Confirmation on Project Terios?”  _ The president asks.

“Currently, I have not been able to confirm if this girl calling herself Terios is the Ultimate Weapon or not.” A pause. “I will continue my research on Project Terios, and have a follow-up report very shortly. Just a reminder... don't forget about my jewels!” Rouge explains.

An audible groan. “ _ Do you expect that after what happened, Baton? You’re thankful you haven’t been fired and become one of American’s Most Wanted.”  _ The secretary snaps.

“Ok, I know. Eggman blowing up the moon is a bad thing. Actually, no- it’s a  _ really _ bad thing. Same with blowing up Prison Island. But I will find a way to fix this.” Rouge explains. “Because-- ok, firstly, do you still have that contact on Miles Prower?”

_ “Yes… what are you planning, Baton?” _

It’s all coming together in her head. She doesn’t trust Eggman, so betraying him isn’t a problem. So her getting in contact with the good guys is priority.

She glances at the article. “Prower has a genius level intellect, and he has a chaos emerald, correct?” Rouge smiles. “The Eclipse Cannon is  _ powered  _ by the damn things, so reasonably… shouldn’t he be able to find a way to destroy it?”

A sigh. “ _ That… makes sense. I’ll send you his contact now - Flynn? Bring it up.”  _ A pause. “ _ Don’t mess this up, Baton.” _

“Of course, sir.” Phone call ends and a quick notification on her phone of an immediate email --  _ Contact and file information of Miles Prower. _

However, it’s time for good ol’ project Terios research. 

For one, she already knows the password -- Maria. 

Immediately, she sees files about Shadow, Terios and… Biolizard? Interesting.

Firstly, Biolizard. Seemed important.

* * *

FILE NAME- PROJECT SHADOW REPORT  
FILE DATE- JANUARY 27 1945  
 **Tagged as Confidential. Written by Dr. Melissa Tower.**

> _ ENCRYPTED FILE. ENTER ACCESS CODE FOR CONTINUED READING. _

* * *

Dammit. It seemed that Rouge had to nag Eggman on this later. Or maybe she can talk to Terios about it… maybe.

Well, the second file was up next.

* * *

FILE NAME- PROJECT SHADOW OVERVIEW  
FILE DATE- [REDACTED]  
 **TAGGED AS “PERSONAL DIARY ENTRY”. WRITTEN BY PROF. GERALD ROBOTNIK.**

> _ My greatest creation… Project Shadow. Or, simply, Shadow Robotnik. From frequent testing on his blood -- I have found the cure to Maria’s NIDs!  _
> 
> _ And, as of [DATA EXPUNGED], he no longer has the inherited “leukemia” of his father and doner, Black Doom of the Black Arms. Shadow is currently 100cm tall and weighs 35kg, he has been alive for three years -- although, he has the mental age of a fifthteen year old boy. _
> 
> _ For the GUN staff reading this, this “leukemia” I speak of is a type of cancer found in blood and bone marrow, is caused by the rapid production of abnormal white blood cells. _
> 
> _ With his leukemia cured... well, this is perfect, as the next time Shadow’s blood shall be taken -- Maria will have her cure and the world can have it’s ultimate lifeform. _

* * *

She stops reading. ‘GUN staff reading this…?’ but, the raid on the ARK was… by GUN, because Gerald was creating weapons of war? And ‘Black Doom of the Black Arms’…? 

Rouge clicks on the second file (that isn’t corrupted)... which is exactly what she wants to see. It was the last file on the computer which was… concerning.

* * *

FILE NAME- terios.  
FILE DATE- [DATA CORRUPTED]  
 **TAGGED AS . WRITTEN BY GERALD.**

> _ To preface,The ARK was shut down after the raid, probably to prevent the prototype from falling into the wrong hands.  _
> 
> _ From my knowledge, the public believes it was an accident, along with that, many apparently believe Maria and I have died along with Shadow and the researchers. Although, I consider Maria and myself dead already. _
> 
> _ Maria has become the Ultimate Weapon. GUN has used the blood samples of Shadow and used Maria as a testing ground. Although she has been cured and been given immense strength on the level of Shadow, these monsters at GUN (they call them scientists) have crushed her soul in the process. _
> 
> _ Every member of the ARK, aside from the Tower Family, is dead.  _
> 
> _ They have taken my research, killed my son in cold blood, tortured and destroyed my granddaughter. I have heard from the commander that once my execution has occurred, they will put Maria’s body in cryostasis. They are calling this puppet 'Terios'. _
> 
> _ When she wakes up again, she will know what she must do.  _
> 
> _ I plan to give you a taste of my revenge. _

* * *

And… the file ends there. Rouge has read horrifying things before -- it's her job as a spy. But this, it’s so… it’s so grim. She hopes that Terios isn’t… the same Terios in the file.

GUN… 

The agent shakes her head, and glances at her phone. It’s probably best for her to exit out of the terminal and call Prower.

And she does. Rouge leaves the room, and out of the corner of her eye she sees... something she's seen in her childhood. Something her own mother did for her-- using a large ruler for the wall, and record the height of kids as they grow. Rouge focuses her eyes on it.

> _Maria - 4'3, Shadow - 3'5_

Rouge shakes her head. This situation, this tragedy that was the ARK... was becoming to miserable for her. 

Immediately, thankfully, Prower picks up. Which is good for her. “Hello?” She says softly into the phone.

She hears gunfire in the background. Pleasant. “ _ Uh, hi? Who is this?” _

Rouge smiles. “I’m Rouge Baton, the personal agent of the US president, and… I believe I have some information you and your friends would appreciate having.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Hey, Terios, they're in a blue plane."   
> "Copy that. I'm in pursuit."
> 
> ...
> 
> "...I'm Terios the Hedgehog, the one and only ultimate weapon. I received a message from Rouge to follow that plane. The pilot apparently has the last Chaos Emerald. B-but, there are so many creepy-looking mountains ahead of me... n-never mind that! I won't let the plane get away!"
> 
> \--
> 
> The president and his secretary don't have names like the GUN commander (who's named Abraham Towers in the pren-genesis wave comics), so I named the both after my favorite writer and artist from the IDW comics: Ian Flynn and Evan Stanly!
> 
> Also Route 280 or whatever it's called sucks. I hate it. 
> 
> Oh, and Rouge's surname "Baton" comes from "Baton Rouge". I thought it was cute :]


	12. Eggman's Base

> **IN CAPITAL CITY - Westopolis**

Sonic was not having a good day. Not only does he  _ kinda  _ feel bad for beating up a girl, but he’s also a criminal. “Sheesh!” He groaned, hiding behind the Tornado’s shadow. “There always seems to be a lot of police around when you don't need them!” Sonic grumbled, and glanced at his sidekick. “Tails, any news yet?”

Tails nodded. “For some reason, I'm not getting a signal from the six remaining Chaos Emeralds…” He paused. “And that woman on the phone told me that Eggman did take the Emeralds into, uh, outer space.”

“Outer space?” Amy repeated. “Jeez! That jerk is obsessed with taking the emeralds out of orbit...”

The manhole below them started to jiggle open. Chaos, those GUN jerks were getting so _feisty_ to capture them. 

Amy got the first look at the person. “Knuckles!”

...Knuckles? As in Knuckles the Echidna of Angel Island? Well, that’s certainly better than the government or the police. Good ol’ knucklehead was a lot better than a lot of things, really.

Knuckles smiled, getting up. “Hey guys, long time no see! I must have got lost in the mines!” Mines, what the heck was he doing? “Looking for the Master Emerald pieces was tougher than I thought it would be.” 

Oh, awesome, the Master Emerald was broken again. 

“Where are we anyway?” Of course, Amy starts to pull him out. “Hey, what’s going on?’

“A lot! Get up Knuckles!” Amy squeaked.

“Guys! I managed to get more info from my informant just now! It’s… coordinates to Death Valley! She says that there's a shuttle in Eggman’s base that we can use to get into the Bernal Sphere apparently called… ARK.” Tails pauses. “Basically, if we can go south, we can find Eggman!”

Sonic felt himself smile at that news. Not only is Knuckles here, but they knew exactly where Egghead was. “Alright! Let’s get going!” Which of course, as he ran off, Tails and Knuckles followed suit.

“Hey! Wait for me you guys!” Amy cried.

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

> **Desert area - DEATH VALLEY, CALIFORNIA.**

Sonic pointed at the building up ahead, a… pyramid. “Is that the base?” Jeez, of all places for Eggman to hide out in, it just had to be  _ Death Valley.  _ Sonic already didn’t like how blistering hot California was, but now he could really feel his quills melt.

“Yea, these are the coordinates that women gave me.” Tails said as he was helping Amy into the tornado. “Plus, apparently… well, Knuckles?”

Knuckles nodded. “I saw Eggman go inside the pyramid and more importantly, I saw that bat girl go inside with him as well.” He turned to Amy. “You saw them too, right?”

“Well, at least I  _ thought  _ I did.” Amy answered.

“We should be able to get into outer space from there, just like Tails said!” Sonic said, as he stretched his legs, ready to boost into the base. “I don't know what this space colony is all about but I'll find and destroy that cannon… and then kick their fake imperial butts!”

Knuckles smiled. “All right!”

“I'll go and find the entrance!” Tails exclaimed, walking towards the base with Amy in the mech.

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

The Base, which became apparent was called  _ Egg Quarters  _ (what a cheesy name), was successfully infiltrated by Team Sonic. And it was totally created by Eggman, with the myriad of statues making the egghead look like an egyptian god.

“Looks like we're heading toward the center of the base.” Tails explained, hovering out of the Tornado -- letting Amy stay in it.

Sonic groaned. “That egghead sure loves mechanical things doesn't he? I mean, your informant did say there was a shuttle lying around here.” He stretched his arms. “Not the smartest thing to do, given his base is sooo easily infiltrated.” 

Tails examined the door in front of them. “Well, damn. The door’s locked. We would need a key to get in there.”

“Firstly, language.” Sonic chastised. He was a bit surprised that Tails of all people would swear. “Secondly, that’s no problem. Since you would know the way, right Knuckles?”

“Excuse me, what? What does that even mean? And why do  _ I  _ have to find the key?” Knuckles ask-complained. 

Sonic gave the echidna a pat of the back. “We're counting on you buddy! Since you’re the world's greatest treasure hunter!”

Knuckles groaned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so fucking sorry for the ugandan knuckles reference.


	13. The Metallix from the Sky Sanctuary

“ _ Doctor, they're heading directly toward us. What should we do? _ ” Terios chirped through the radio. That made Eggman groan extremely loudly. He decided to go back to the base to pick up a secret weapon, especially considering the situation at hand.

That was… his greatest creation… Mecha Sonic! Having two living weapons seemed like overkill, but that wasn’t such a bad thing.

Eggman clicked his radio on. “Just sit tight, Terios. I've got them on radar.” He said, trying to soothe the weapon. “There's no way they can get away. I don't know what they are planning, but I'll be sure to give them a  _ warm  _ welcome.” He was already at his Pyramid base, in the pod room.

There he was… the android had changed very little from the scuffle on Sky Sanctuary. The only new additions were the gold plating on his blue chest (giving more protection to his chaos drive power core), the gold gauntlets, and the metallic framing on his jet boosters. And of course, at the moment, Mecha did not have his visor on -- giving the impression that he had “human” eyes.

Powering him on was simple, although a spike in Eggman’s side occured when he heard the locked door open.

Eggman heard a sigh. “That was pretty rough…” A boy groaned -- sounding similar to that knucklehead echidna from Angel Island.

“We did it! Let's go Amy!” Chirped Tails.

Eggman leaves the chamber where Mecha was in, letting him power on by his lonesome. “You rodents! Did you really think you could get out of here alive?” He growled, coming out of the shadows.

Of course, his arch enemy Sonic was there at the front. “Come and get some, Eggman!” 

The two-tailed freak was at his side too. “Sonic!” The fox whimpered.

“Just leave it to me!” The rodent smirked. “Get Ames and Knux outta here!”

Eggman readied his canon. “This time, I'll take your lives, as well as the Chaos Emeralds! I call on you to destroy these pests!” He clicked a control switch in his mech, awakening a secret weapon at his disposal. “Come out, my servant!”

From the sands in the center of the room, the Egg Golem ascends. Not exactly the Mecha Sonic he wanted, but eh, this’ll work. It seemed Mecha Sonic needs a little more time to wake up.

“Whoa!” Sonic exclaimed.

The Egg Golem looks down at Sonic as it towers over the room. 

“Now go! Squash that blue rat, Sonic!”

Eggman always wondered the mechanics of the Homing Attack. Because the Egg Golem slammed his palm onto the ground -- missing Sonic. Sonic spin dashed up the machine’s arm, and attacked the core with a single attack. 

“Teriaaaaa!” The rat yelled triumphantly, and rejoined with his fellow rat friends as they ran for the room ahead. Eggman wondered for a split second what in Chaos’ name what  _ Teriaaaaaa  _ meant _. _

The machine explodes, much to Eggman’s dismay, and the Egg Golem swivels its head around several times.

_ When Sonic struck his head, he must've broken the restraining mechanism.  _ Eggman realized. That made him very upset. “GAH! What a piece of junk!” He barked.

The Egg Golem looks down at him, and starts to attack. Oh goodie

“NO!” Eggman cried aloud. He couldn’t fail here! Everything was happening all according to the plan!

A blast shot through the golem which… wasn’t his doing. The golem melted into the sand below him, which made Eggman look behind.

Mecha Sonic was online!

“SORRY FOR THE LATE ARRIVAL, MASTER.” Mecha Sonic greeted, sounding as he always does -- like a text-to-speech program. “I AM ONLINE AND FULLY FUNCTIONAL. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMANDS?”

His communicator chirped on. 

“ _ Hi Doctor, it’s Rouge. How's it going? _ ” It was Rouge.

“Sonic and his rodent crew have escaped onto a shuttle.” He answered the girl. 

“ _ What? What do you mean they escaped _ ?!” A sigh. “ _ Well...that's okay. I'll go after them myself. _ ”

Eggman smiled. “Thank you, Rouge.”

“ _ Uh, so I can help defend the colony while you and Terios are away, can you tell me the access code for the Space Colony control? _ ” Rouge asked, her voice filled with concern. 

That was… a strange request. “Oh, the password is Maria, but the access code is 61801. Don’t let them get on board! I’m coming back with back up immediately.” Eggman glanced back at Mecha. "It's time

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Rouge laughed as she turned her radio off. “Hmm, tricking that old Doctor is just too easy, huh… what a sucker.” She said aloud as she logged in. “Alright, it's time to get back to work! The password is ‘MA-RI-A’, the access code is… 61801…”

"This is it! The research of project Terios! Let's see now..." She paused in horror at all the information flashing in front of her. "...What in the world is this?!"

This can't be right... Just happened Terios anyway...? This looked... nothing like...

Before she continue that thought, a warning message comes on. It showed Sonic, Tails, and Amy in a hallway in the ARK. Meaning that she could finally meet with Prower. But... they seemed to have everything under control now -- with the snippet of audio she heard.

"Hmph! Well, I guess I'll just have to take the last pieces of the Master Emerald!" She exclaimed, after noticing that the echidna boy was in the ARK quadrant "34ºN, 12ºE".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No need to fear... Mecha Sonic is here!
> 
> Also, I skipped over the president scene because in my opinion, the scene was pretty useless in the context of OFCN (One Flew out of the Cuckoo's Nest).
> 
> PS. Mad Space and Meteor Herd take place in the same location so... :)


	14. From the Outside Looking In

* * *

**CANNON COUNTDOWN- 2 HOURS, 11 MINUTES.**

* * *

Amy never wanted to go to space. Ever. Her trip and eventual kidnapping on Little Planet was miserable enough for her, so why was she here now? 

No clue

Sonic groaned, rubbing his head. “What's up with that knucklehead anyway! Trying to take over the shuttle! I thought we were toast for sure!” He glances around, probably looking around to find said Knucklehead. “Huh? Where did he go now?”

Amy never understood the teasing towards the echidna. Sure, he was a bit of a hot head, but he was also brave and strong. And a bit cute but… Amy still had her eyes all on Sonic.

Tails stretched, getting into the Tornado 2. “Looks like he bailed!”

“No, he told me he was going to the Meteor Herd.” Amy felt the urge to stick her tongue out. “This place looks deserted! Dusty too!” She paused. “Are you sure  _ this  _ is where Eggman is?” 

Tails nodded. “This place was shut down about 50 years ago because of a gruesome accident. The first Bernal Sphere space colony called ARK.” He paused, blushing. “I had to do a project on it when I was in school, which is why I know so much, but um, when it was operational, it was the most advanced research center of its kind, but looking at it now…”

“Now it's an abandoned ARK, wouldn't you say?” Amy added.

Sonic shook his head. “There's not much time left before Eggman fires that weapon again... We've got to hurry!” He ran up to up to the tornado, as Tails pulled up the Laptop. “Let's find the cannon and destroy it!”

“Yeah!” Tails began typing on his computer. “Someone designed that weapon to be impenetrable from outside attacks,” He explained as he pulled up a diagram of the ARK, “Its defense system is strong, so we have to find a way to destroy it from the inside!” 

Amy glanced in awe at Tails pulled out… a yellow jewel. “Isn't that a Chaos Emerald?” She was impressed that Tails still had the chaos from the Station Square incident.

“It looks like it doesn't it? But in fact, it's a fake one that I created after researching the real Emerald!” Tails explained. “It has the same wavelength and properties but is less powerful than the real one. My informant wanted me to have it designed to reverse the energy field inside the Chaos Emeralds and blow up! It looks so real, even a machine can't tell the difference! I'll find the power supply and destroy it!” He gave Sonic the fake emerald. “Sonic, you find the control room, OK?”

Sonic smiles as he takes the gem. “So the plan is, we'll switch the Chaos Emeralds when the machine is stopped, right?”

“Yep!” And, like always, they left her behind. Of all days to forget her long hammer… well, thankfully she had her less powerful Piko-Piko.

The Ark was so strange. It seemed like people lived here… it wasn’t long until she found a room. Of course, the room looked like it was owned by a little girl.

Frank Sinatra posters… a pink bedspread with dusty chao plushies, unfinished drawings on a snow white desk. All of it crudely drawn but. Tails said a gruesome incident happened here… what exactly happened?

“Darn! Why do they always leave a sweet, little innocent girl like me alone?” She grumbled as she grabbed a chao plush -- it was a light pink angel chao. Examining it, Amy noticed needle thin black and red… hedgehog quills…?

The story this room told… a little girl living on the ARK… with a pet hedgehog. Amy really hoped this little girl was ok. 

“YOU. YOU ARE AN INTRUDER.” A mechanical voice yelled, which startled Amy and made her jump -- dropping the plush toy. She twirled around, and saw…

“Metal Sonic!?” She squeaked in horror. The robot was not like the Metal Sonic  _ she  _ knew, this one was large and clunky, covered in gaudy gold armor. Not at all like the tiny robot she was kidnapped during the little planet incident.

“I AM MECHA SONIC VERSION 2.0.” Mecha Sonic continued to yell. “IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE, YOU WILL TELL THE LOCATIONS OF SONIC AND TAILS.” 

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

* * *

**CANON COUNTDOWN- 1 HOUR 26 MINUTES**

* * *

Knuckles is having a rough afternoon… night… whatever. Space is weird. But for one, he’s encountered that Bat Girl again. Goodie. Outside the ARK in what Amy called the Meteor Herd… a suspended tower over lava. 

Very overkill. But thankfully, he had found three more Master Emerald shards. When he found the last three… the Master Emerald would be fixed.

The bat girl smiled devilishly. “Long time no see, treasure hunter. Did you find  _ my  _ Emeralds?” She asked, mockingly.

Knuckles grit his teeth. “That's a good one!  _ YOUR  _ Emerald. Talking to you is a waste of time!” He barked.

“God you’re annoying!” The girl barked as she ran towards him, preparing to kick him.

He blocked it, training with Amy really helped his fighting skills. Immediately, he retaliated with a punch. Knuckles managed to hit the… surprisingly hard metal breast plate. 

A slap. Another punch. A back and forth that lasted a couple minutes. 

“Whew!” Knuckles panted.

The girl groaned

“ _ Stop fooling around, and give me back MY Emeralds!”  _ The two yelled in unison.

Rouge laughed. “What are you babbling about? You call yourself a hunter? Attacking a lady…” She shook her head. “Jesus! Shame on you!”

“What kind of lady goes around stealing gems  _ anyway _ ?” Knuckles snapped.

The bat girl stomped towards him. “Those gems belong to me! Because I’m the expert treasure hunter, Rouge!” So her name was Rouge…? 

And she trips off the beam. “Aahhh-”

Knuckles first instinct is to grab her hand. She may be a villain but… she doesn’t deserve to die in a pit of lava.

“What in the world?” Rouge exclaims, as Knuckles helps her up. "Keep your hands to yourself! Don't touch me!"

Knuckles scowls. "Is that how you say thanks to someone who just saved your life?"

Rouge crossed her arms. “Saving my life, don't think I owe you one! You just wanted to hold my hand didn't you? That's why you saved me! You're such a creep! And I’m already in a relationship…” She ranted.

“This isn't a joke, you know!” Knuckles snapped. “Think what you want bat girl, I was saving the Master Emerald.”

“No matter what you say, it sounds crazy!” She groaned before… giving her pieces of the Master Emerald toward Knuckles. Six of them… which meant that Knuckles had all of the Master Emerald!

“Wha...?” He mumbled in shocked.

Rouge shook her head. “Just take them.” She paused. “They  _ stink  _ like echidnas do.”

“If that's what you thought, you should have given me them in the first place!” Knuckles explained.

“What?”

Knuckles sighed, looking at her. “Listen… I'm sorry...if I hurt you.” Which, now he believes, is a good time to reform the Master Emerald. 

“You should get going.” Rouge called out. “I need to make a call to Topaz, I wonder how she’s feeling…”

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

* * *

**CANNON COUNTDOWN- 45 MINUTES** ****

* * *

Sonic entered the Eclipse Cannon room. He clicked his radio on. “Tails, I’m here!”

“ _ Ok Sonic, now put that Emerald… _ ” And suddenly, the radio made a cut. “ _ Ahem! Tails, tell Sonic to meet you back at the research facility! Now! _ ” 

Eggman…!

“Sonic, Amy is…” Tails spoke before trailing.

The radio cut off, making Sonic press it again. “I didn't get that Tails! What's happened to Amy? Tails!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is rouge dating topaz? yes


	15. Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Sonic entered the room with Eggman, Tails, and Amy… and also Terios and Mecha Sonic. Two fake hedgehogs. Awesome.

And Mecha Sonic was pointing an arm cannon at Amy. Pleasant.

Eggman laughed. “Let's take care of business first, shall we Sonic? Hand over the Chaos Emerald, slowly, and then we will talk about your little friend! That is if you really care for her…”

Oh. That was terrifying. Handing over the fake Emerald, I can kill two birds with one stone.

He glanced at Tails to get things ready. Tails nods, and then Sonic.

“Put the Emerald down right there!” Eggman snapped, pointing at Sonic.

“BACK OFF.” Mecha Sonic beeped, glaring at Sonic. “IF YOU DO NOT ‘BACK OFF’, THE PINK HEDGEHOG WILL BE EXECUTED.” Which Terios nodded at, crossing her arms.

Sonic smirked at Eggman, walking forward -- fake emerald in hand. “Oooooo, I’m terrified. You've certainly turned into a big time villain, doctor!”

Eggman chuckles. What?

Suddenly, a glass pod encapsulates him. Double what? Sonic feels his heartbeat race -- and it seemed that no one on Eggman’s was prepared for this. Mecha drops their (or would it be his? Sonic wasn’t exactly sure on the pronouns of killer robots) buster.

And then… Terios just… freezes. Her eyes grow horrified. 

Why did this… affect her so badly?

“You really thought you could trick me with that fake Emerald, didn't you?” Eggman laughed.

Tails stepped back in his mech. “Wait- how did you know it wasn't the real one?” The kit exclaimed.

“Tails!”

Eggman laughed again. “Because you just told me, fox boy!”

Sonic glanced at Tails - his face horrified. As much as Tails’ blunder ticked Sonic off… well, Sonic couldn’t actually be mad. His sidekick was just 13...

Eggman glared at Sonic. “Now, for a little space ride! The capsule clears the colony, BAM!”

That made Terios go even more… frozen-er. What happened to her?

No mind for that. It’s not like the girl even cared anyway -- she was working for Eggman. “I'm counting on you Tails! And Amy... take care of yourself!” Sonic said.

“Farewell! Sonic the Hedgehog!” Eggman laughed as he… ejected Sonic out of the Colony.

Well.

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“SONIC!” Amy yelled, slamming her fists to the ground as she began to sob.

This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening. This cannot be fucking happening.

She sees the massive explosion. Amy’s body shakes.

Eggman sighed. “Farewell Sonic... my admirable adversary!”

Amy stood weakly… still crying. She pulled out her Piko-Piko hammer. Weak-sauce hammer or not, she was not going to let her hero die in vain.

Eggman smiled. “Now we have some unfinished business to take care of! If you give me the real Emerald, I will release you both. You have my promise!”

“Sonic…” Tails mumbled. “Sonic has asked me for the first time to do something for him. I won't let him down. I won't give up!”

Amy felt her teeth grit. “This is for killing Sonic!”

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Terios ran out as she watched the ejected capsule explode. She can’t help herself from remembering the worst memory. Because it reminds her so much of what happened to her.

“Shadow!” She remembers yelling at the Hedgehog.

The hedgehog leans onto the computer terminal -- clearly, his wounds are killing him. Terios hates remembering the gruesome image. The pain in his face. She understands that this memory was fifty years but… it still feels like it happened a month ago.

Shadow slaps a random button -- or maybe it’s not random, but Terios doesn’t remember.

And that’s when a capsule closes down over her. The same way it went over Sonic.

Terios sobbed -- whether this was the memory-her sobbing… or her sobbing in real life. Why did this happen to her? What did she do to deserve this? 

Why did Shadow have to die? Die like this?

Why was she even doing this, for someone who’s dead?

The hedgehog breathes and starts becoming clearly weaker. His body slowly becomes limp. She hates this. “Terios…”

Would he ever call her that? Or would she always be ‘Maria’ to him?

“I… please,”

“Shadow...! Please!” 

“Do it for me…” Shadow's voice becomes weak, and he starts to pause. “For all the people... on that planet…” He grabs the lever, to save Terios. To send her to earth with the experimental cure to her NIDs. 

But all this led to her was her being tortured. 

“You... will give me… revenge.”

Shadow is dead. He’s been dead for fifty years.

Sonic is dead. He’s been dead for 20 seconds.

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Rouge giggled, truly ready to take the emerald. “Legend has it, whenever the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected, the power creates a miracle. I have six of them, they're mine! All mine!” She said in a boast. Plus, with Six Emeralds, she could fix the moon! A-ha!

“I don't think so.” She heard a boot stomp.

Rouge looked back, and… “Terios?” Why did… she looked like she was crying?

“So that was your plan from the very beginning, huh?” Terios snapped. “Or was it a direct order from the president? Now I know who you are! You're a government spy aren't you, Rouge?” 

Rouge grimaced. “So you did your homework, is that it? I would say that's an invasion of privacy.”

“I could say the same thing about you.”

Rouge looked at Terios, her mind going blank. “Hmm... looks like things aren't quite going the way I planned. But since my job is done, I thought it was time to take what's mine and get out of this place.” She laughed awkwardly.

“You are a horrible person.” Terios snapped. “I can’t… I can’t believe I was dumb enough to trust you!”

Rouge looked towards her boots. This felt… so horrible. “Terios… I know this hurts… but…” She paused. “I’ve read and watched the research project called the ‘Ultimate Weapon’." Rouge gripped Terios’ forearms… probably a bad idea. “...That’s you.”

Terios cringed, stepping back and pulling herself away.

Rouge walked towards her. “Terios, no... Maria.” She paused. “I know what GUN did to you -- I watched what they did! It was so abhorrent... that's why… I’m working to fix them along with the president. I want to help you!” She exclaimed. “I am helping you!”

Terios radio chirped.

“ _This is Doctor Eggman. I have found all seven Chaos Emeralds! Terios, someone is trying to get to the Eclipse Cannon. There's not much time left before the cannon fires again! Can you get over there_?!”

Terios shook her head. “If you want to get off the ARK, leave the Chaos Emeralds where they are;” She commanded. “The fake Emerald Ivo talked about… I think that’s good enough for you.”

“Do you actually want to do this... you know what happens when you’ll make the cannon fire again? I’ve read Gerald’s plan about that too.” Rouge said, looking at her. “We can stop this. We can stop this now. This is your out, Maria. This doesn’t have to happen.”

“I know what I must do.” Terios responded simply.

Rouge remembered what she read from the confidential article Gerald wrote. “Your memories might not be real, you know?” She answered softly. “I’ve read that notice too. Is this really what you want?”

“Even if my memories are not real, those old memories belong to someone else.” She answered, but it sounded… pained. Did she not want to do this? If she didn’t want to do this… why was she still doing it?

Rouge glanced at Terios.

“I will fulfill my promise to Shadow. That's the only thing that matters to me now.”

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Sonic gripped the fake emerald, staring at it intensely as everything around him grew red as the timer ticked down. “The same wavelength and properties…” He mumbled. “But can I do this?”

He’s used the chaos emerald before… seven of them at once…

Sonic squeezed his eyes closed.

“The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power, power is enriched by the heart. The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos…” He mumbled, remembering the prayer. “Please, take me back to the ARK… Tikal… Chaos...”

“CHAOS CONTROL!”

The capsule exploded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soft confession i love writing rouge especially with terios because its just "concerned lesbian mother and her daughter from the 1950's"


	16. For a true story

**CANNON COUNTDOWN- 21 MINUTES, 7 SECONDS**

Knuckles had finally repaired the Master Emerald… which was surprisingly a long time coming. He was in the docks… well, rocket docks, of the ARK. It was weird. Until… he felt a power surge in. It was a…  _ physical  _ energy but…

A bright light flashed in front of him.

It was Sonic.

“Sonic!” Knuckles said aloud, as the blue hedgehog fell to the floor.

“Woah.” Sonic wheezed, getting up. “I wasn't sure if I could pull that one off. Somehow, I managed to use the Chaos Control.”

“Chaos Control?” Knuckles repeated, helping Sonic stand. “You ok?”

“I almost died, but yea, I’m fine.” Sonic mumbled nonchalantly. “I'm worried about Tails and Amy! I hate to ask but could you help them? This is our last chance!” He gripped the yellow emerald in his hand. “I got it! Before the cannon fires, I'll slam dunk it in there!”

That was… well, huh. That was a lot.

**CANNON COUNTDOWN- 5 MINUTES, 44 SECONDS**

Sonic walking to the damned Eclipse Cannon. He was going to finish his mission whether Egghead likes it or not. And now, Sonic was in what he called the ‘Final Rush’. It was a hallway that led out into space.

“You never cease to surprise me.” He heard Terios call out. “I thought that capsule you were in exploded in space… I felt so bad for you.”

Sonic laughed. “That’s a funny joke, but you know what I can say... I die hard!” He glanced at the emerald. “You actually saved me, you know.” Glancing up, he noticed her insulted look. Which of course, made him quicken his pace.

Terios smirked. “It was a Chaos Emerald, wasn't it? But, there's no way you could have activated the Chaos Control using a fake Emerald.” Reacting to Sonic’s quickened pace, by speeding up her own. “So, there's more to you than just looking like him. What are you?”

Looking like who...? Ah, nevermind.

Sonic laughed. “Well, what you see is what you get! I’m just a guy with an attitude that loves adventure!” He gave a thumbs up. “I'm the one and only, Sonic the Hedgehog!

Terios nodded. “...I see. But you know, I can't let you win! So your adventuring days are  _ coming to an end _ !”

“Then I’ll use your chaos control!” Sonic boasted as he sped up, which Terios followed suit with.

Sonic noticed the flames light up under Terios’ shoes… almost like, rocket skates. “I’d love to see you try!”

Running out of the cold space, the platforms below them never seemed to stop appearing.

“ **Chaos Spear!** ” Terios called, sending out a lime green spear of energy -- aimed straight at Sonic.

It managed to land, nicking Sonic’s shoulder. “Well, if you wanna play  _ rough- _ ” He wiped himself around, and rolled into a ball. Sonic was intending to homing attack the girl.

And- he landed into her gut. 

“ _ Darn it! _ ” Terios… swore? Was darn even a swear word?

Sonic recoiled off, jumping away from her. “Why’re you even working for Egghead?” He asked, running.

The girl coughed. “I’m trying to get revenge!” She answered, aiming her arm upwards -- a lime green energy growing from it. “ **Chaos Spear!** ”

The spear this time didn’t hit him, barely reaching his sneakers. “Revenge for what?” 

Terios dashed into him, shouldering Sonic. Her face was not pleased. “That’s not even your business!” She snapped. “It’s like asking why  _ you  _ adventure!”

That made Sonic chuckle, feeling his nose press against Terios’ cheek. “Well, that’s an interesting story of--” He cut himself off before kicking the girl in the gut. 

Sonic is not someone to lose balance. He’s not even usually the type of person to fall while running.

But, here he is, falling.

Which now reveals the worst part of this bridge thing-- it’s  _ gapped.  _ Meaning if Sonic fell off, there’d be a blue comet falling toward the earth.

...That’s what Sonic’s doing right now. Quite terrifying.

He feels a hand grab his. Sonic dangled off the edge, breathing deeply.

Terios saved him which is… a weird thought. Sonic felt himself get pulled up by the girl. Still weird as the girl that was  _ actively  _ attacking him just saved him.

She wheezed, placing her free hand on her stomach. 

Sonic stood back a bit when he stood up, letting go of Terios’ hand. “You… saved me?”

Terios shook her head. “I told you I was pleased you lived, didn’t I?” She responded, standing up weakly. “You… remind me of my brother. A lot but… whatever. Go, try and stop the eclipse cannon.”

“O… okay?” He ran off, before using the fake chaos emerald to warp… he also noticed it was getting weaker.

A smile grew on Terios’ face. “It’s not like you can stop it anyways.”

* * *

**CANNON COUNTDOWN- 1 MINUTE, 33 SECONDS**

Tails clicked his radio on. “Sonic, I did it!” Tails announced, despite knowing Sonic was… well, dead.

A white warp shined into the room. It was… no way, Sonic? “Ay, awesome job, Tails!” 

This was the happiest moment he felt in Tails’  _ entire life.  _ “Sonic!” 

Amy ran over to them. “Wait, um.” The pink hedgehog paused. “Where’s… Eggman and the seventh Chaos Emerald?”

There entered, Knuckles.

* * *

Everything was coming together for Eggman. Not only did Mecha snatched the emerald,  _ but  _ Eggman was at the Eclipse Cannon terminal.

“Hahahahahaha!! This completes my plan to take over the world! Now begins the glorious era of the Empire of Eggman!” Robotnik cheered. “Mecha, if you will.”

Mecha hovered up to the empty hole, putting the Emerald in the empty hole.

All Eggman could do was cackle happily. This was perfect!

“MASTER.” Mecha Sonic alerted, pointing towards the holographic screen.

There, on the screen… was a warning message.

_ COUNTDOWN TO COLONY CRASH- _

_ 4 HOURS, 23 MINUTES. _

Oh. That… wasn’t good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and thats a wrap for the hero and dark stories!
> 
> Up next... the last story!


	17. Alliance

This was the worst possible situation for Rouge at the moment. The… Space Colony was crashing toward the Earth, slowly but…

Well, it’s time to break it to the people who’d do something. 

The research facility was the first place to check and… what do you know, Tails’  _ Team Sonic  _ was there discussing the sudden change in the ARK.

Knuckles glanced at her. “You...? You haven't given up yet?!”

All Rouge could do was shake her head. “It's all over for us…”

“What do you mean?” Knuckles asked.

“I just received a message from my partner…” Which was actually a horribly uncomfortable phone call with Rouge’s girlfriend, Topaz Thorndyke. “The Space Colony ARK, is currently approaching earth at an incredible velocity. It, probably... will impact earth-”

Rouge was cut off by the computer, as it chirps open -- projecting a message onto the glass of the Research Facility. It was... Gerald Robotnik!

“What's that on the screen?” Knuckles asked, standing in front of Sonic, Tails and Amy.

There sat Gerald Robotnik, chained up, his head low. He looked like a skeleton… nothing like the portly man Rouge saw pictures of.

" _ This is a death sentence for every human being on earth. If my calculations are correct, the Space Colony ARK will impact the earth in 4 hours, fifty-three seconds. All of you will be destroyed, along with your beloved planet earth _ ." 

The pre-recorded message... is still playing, Rouge realizes.

“ _ I plan to give you a taste of my revenge, once all the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected. Once I initiate this program, it cannot be disabled. All of you ungrateful humans, who took everything away from me... will feel my loss, my anger, and my despair! _ ”

Another voice spoke -- probably a G.U.N. Soldier. " _ Is there anything else you want to say? _ "

Gerald shook his head. " _ No... _ "

Rouge heard a sickening noise -- the aiming of rifles. This wasn’t a manifesto of madness. This was… an execution video. " _ Ready! _ " Multiple G.U.N. Soldiers said allowed.

Amy peaked her head out -- Rouge now noticed that the young hedgehog was hiding behind Knuckles. “What's going on here?! Who is that?”

“ _ I plan to give you a taste of my revenge--” _ The video went black before the sound of gunfire rang out.

“Hey, the vibration's getting worse!” Knuckles commented and… wow, it was. 

Footsteps rang into the room. “Professor Gerald Robotnik!” Eggman announced, entering with Mecha Sonic and… Maria. Although, Rouge bet the girl would rather be called Terios.

“One of the greatest scientific minds in the world…” Terios explained, trailed off. “...he was also my and Ivo’s grandfather.”

Knuckles growled, stancing up to fight Eggman and Terios. “What?! I knew you were behind all this! Stop it right now, or else--”

“--I'd have done this a long time ago if I had the chance.” Eggman admitted.

“What do you mean?” Sonic asked.

“You're pretty persistent for a hedgehog, aren't you? You're still alive, huh?” Eggman snapped. Mecha Sonic raised his buster.

Sonic laughed. “Heh, just letting Knuckles pilot the shuttle all the way over here, was more dangerous than you could ever be!”

Well, that seemed like a story in itself.

Eggman walked over to Rouge, and handed her a simple gray computer disk.

“What's this?” She asked, examining the journal.

Eggman shook his head, leading her to the terminal. “This is... my grandfather's diary.”

Rouge nods, putting it into the terminal -- not the center terminal by the wall. Immediately, a wall of text started scrolling down.

Her eyes darted to the text. “I don't quite know what happened, or what went wrong. Was it a mistake to create the Ultimate Life Form?” She read aloud. “I thought it would be something that would benefit mankind... But then the military guards landed on the Colony that day. They were sent to destroy the research project that I had been working on. My colleagues at the research facility, my granddaughter Maria, I hope you are all safe.”

She paused, glancing at Terios before going back to the text.

"The colony was completely shut down, probably to prevent the prototype from falling into the wrong hands." Rouge paused, before continuing. “The ARK was shut down under the premise that there had been an accident. G.U.N. has tortured my sweet granddaughter in order to save her… turning her into a soulless weapon.” Rouge stopped, glancing at Terios. She was… visibly upset now.

Rouge could only go back to reading.

“I am losing everything! I had nothing more to live for! She and I… we’re going insane! All I could think about, was to avenge her and Shadow! Somehow, someway, I got scared as I no longer was able to control my thoughts. All I could think about was that I wanted it all to end.” Rouge felt her gut drop. Based on my original projections, I was able to complete my changes to Maria… making her into Terios. I designed its mind to be perfect, pure... I will leave everything to her. If you wish, release and awaken it to the world… if you wish to fill the world with destruction." Rouge finished reading, before turning to Eggman. “Oh, so that's why you released Shadow from the base!”

“The core of the Eclipse Cannon is now highly reactive and explosive. This is because the energy of the Chaos Emeralds is overpowering it. If the colony collides with earth, it will shatter into pieces like my grandfather predicted!” Eggman smiled, affectionately. “What a mad scientist!”

Amy rolled her eyes. “That should be  _ you _ , right?”

“We have to stop the Space Colony, now!”

Eggman nodded. “The Space Colony ARK's position may have shifted due to the amount of energy given off by the Emeralds. We have to stop the energy!”

“But... how?” Tails asked as he glanced up to Eggman.

Rouge smiled, clapping her hands together. Because she had an idea. “Hmm, that's it. There is a way to stop the energy!” She glanced at Knuckles. “We have to use your Emerald! You're the one who told me that the Master Emerald has the power to stop the Chaos Emeralds!”

“That's right.” Knuckles agreed, pulling out the Master Emerald. “If I use this, I just might be able to stop the Chaos Emeralds!”

“The reaction of the Chaos Emeralds is moving toward the Cannon's Core! It may be too late!”

Eggman shook his head. “There’s still time left. If we pull together, we might be able to get to the shortcut that leads to the core!”

Sonic smiled, giving a thumbs up. “No worries! Just leave it to me! I'm the world's fastest hedgehog!”

“You… well,” Eggman paused. “Will be guarding the Master Emerald.”

Knuckles gave an expression of pure horror. “ _ He will not! _ ”

“Because half of the core is  _ underwater. _ ” Eggman explained. “And, last I checked, Sonic can barely  _ swim.” _

Sonic blushed in embarrassment. 

“Which is why Mecha Sonic will go in your stead.” Eggman paused, “Which, dear boy, you will be taking commands from anyone here.”

Mecha Sonic’s visor scanned. “CONFIRMED.”

Amy stood up. “I’ll go with him too!”

Sonic gave a finger gun at Mecha, as he took his post at the Master Emerald. “Yo, metal me, protect Amy!”

Mecha Sonic’s visor… scanned again. That’s something he did a lot… huh. “ADDED PRIORITY: PROTECT PINK HEDGEHOG.”

“Okay! Let's get to work!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next chapter is going to be the good ol "calm before the storm", as it's going to be a flashback before all this craziness happened! after that... a race to the cannons core!


	18. G.U.N. Smoke- Memory from Fifty Years Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You'll leave it to me:  
> Your sweet Russian roulette... a shiny secret, I can't turn away anymore.

**Fifty years ago.**

* * *

Maria didn’t want any of this to happen. First, she had woken up in some field -- and miraculously not harmed at all. At the time she woke up, she would’ve considered it a blessing. Well, a half blessing. Shadow was still gone. At least, she feared that.

That all went away when G.U.N. soldiers found her. Pretty quickly too, it was insane.

“Finally!” One of the men said, grabbing Maria out. This wasn't what she wanted.

She wanted Shadow to be ok. 

She wanted her Grandfather to be ok.

She didn't want any of this.

Were they going to kill her? Shoot her in the chest, just like they did Shadow? God. She still can’t believe he’s dead. Maria  _ hoped  _ he was ok -- that he wasn’t dead. That he was ok, and was going to be healed, and that when all this was over, Maria could still play with Shadow.

Like they always did.

“Wait,” said the same soldier, snapping Maria from her thoughts. He still had a very firm grip on Maria’s arm. “ _ This _ is Project Shadow? It’s… a little girl?” 

That… made her heart almost stop. Project Shadow was just a little boy. The soldiers still killed him. It dawned on Maria that she was not going to be safe.

The other soldier laughed, coming into Maria’s view. “Dumbass, does that  _ look  _ like a hedgehog?” Joked the soldier, as he pointed at her.

She wanted to run. But she was so terrified of getting killed. Would it matter though? Maybe they would just kill her, regardless if she complied. It was a terrifying thought.

“Well.” The gun soldier smiled, looking at Maria. He smelled like gun smoke. “Welcome to Prison Island, little miss Project Shadow.” 

She wasn’t Shadow.

She could never be Shadow.

* * *

☆☆☆☆☆☆

* * *

Maria was only there for a week. A total of 7 days away from the ARK. A total of 7 days of hoping Shadow was ok. 

The lab on Prison Island wasn’t as nice as the ARK’s. Maybe because the scientists weren’t as nice. Or maybe it was because they hated her. And the feeling was completely mutual. Because for the first time, she hated someone. She hated the scientists so much. 

They slapped her, they yelled at her, they barely fed her, they didn’t even refer to her as a human being -- never calling her  _ Maria, _ never treating her like a  _ little girl _ . They called her  _ it, project  _ and thousand of other dehumanizing things that she couldn’t repeat out loud.

Her room wasn’t even like her room on the ARK. At least there, she had a bed and things (like plush  _ Chao  _ toys) she could cuddle. Heck, Maria’s room could barely even be called a  _ room --  _ more like a jail cell. All she had was a cot and two chairs. 

At the moment, Maria sat uncomfortably in her cell. It kept reminding her how terrified and alone she was. Maria felt her mind still wonder to all the people on the ARK.

She wondered what G.U.N. was going to do with Shadow. Heck, was everyone on the ARK ok? 

Most importantly,  _ was Grandfather ok _ ? She hated how she just… left everyone behind. 

One of the scientists enters her cell. She was… a mobian? Similar in shape to Shadow, with white fluffy hair… and also being a bat and not a hedgehog. Her wings were a little purple, and had big radar dish ears. And… also, she was alive.

“Robotnik?” The woman asked.

Maria felt her throat go dry. “...Yes?”

The women sighed. “I’m Nails. Nails Baton.” She glanced down at her clipboard, as she sat in one of the chairs in the room. “I’m one of the scientists here at G.U.N. under the commission of the president.” 

Maria didn’t know how to respond. “ _ Yes, thank you for telling me you work for G.U.N.. It’s not like they just raided my home yesterday and possibly have killed my brother”  _ was a possible response. “ _ Please leave me alone.”  _ was another.

“I know everything is… hard, right now.” Nails said softly. “But the… hears some good news. There's also bad news but… well, fellow scientists examined the blood pack they found with you. It’s eligible to cure your NIDS.”

Great. She finally is cured from this stupid disease and Shadow isn’t even here to see it. 

Nails sighed. “And… your grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, is here.” 

That almost made her shoot up from her seat. “He is!?” She asked. “Who else is here!?” Finally, some decent news! That was honestly better than a cure but… only if Shadow was also ok.

But… she still didn’t know if he was. So even if it was decent, it still felt hollow.

Nails breathed in. “That’s… where I have to get into the bad news.” She paused. “You and Gerald are the… only people from the ARK left.

“What?” Is Maria’s immediate response. “There were nearly fifty people on the ark!”

Nails nodded. “It’s horrible, I know. So many innocent people… and, as a financial loss for G.U.N., the final product of the Project Shadow was killed in the raid.” She explained. 

Everything seemed to crash at that moment.

It couldn’t be true --  _ she didn’t want it to be true.  _ Maria felt her eyes go wet, she didn’t want this to be real. It was all a bad dream. This was all just a nightmare that Maria couldn’t escape.

Maria also seriously hated how Shadow was being treated post-mortem. He was a person, not an object. Shadow was never an object, he was a person. 

Shadow liked drawing. He believed Chao were cute. His favorite was angel chao (specifically pink ones), even if he was embarrassed about it. Even if he could never own a chao. Shadow loved music in general. He loved that one new artist Frank Sinatra. 

Shadow was a kid, just like Maria. 

He didn’t deserve to die alone. 

He didn’t deserve any of this.

Maria hated everything happening to her. 

The bat glanced at her clipboard again, and gulped deeply. “...Which leads us to… G.U.N.’s decision on the Project Shadow failure and… your survival.” Nails shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

“What do you mean?” Maria mumbled, lifting her head. Her face felt wet. How long was she crying?

“They’re going to let Professor Gerald heal you but…” Nails sighed. “...Only if  _ you _ are made into the Ultimate Weapon, a successor to Project Shadow.”

Maria freezes. What? “They can’t do that!”

Nails nods. “It’s immoral, yes.” The woman pauses. “But… the blood being put into your veins is nearly worth 2 grand-” She glanced at the clipboard, “I quote, ‘Project Shadow itself was around 10 grand.”

Maria felt dread in her body. They couldn’t do this to her. They… they just couldn’t do this. She wished they’d kill her instead.

“I know that’s… a lot for you to take in.” Nails comforted. “But, I swear to you, this will all work out, ok?”

Everything felt like it was falling apart.

All Maria could do was shake her head. She knew that Nails was lying to her, even if Nails was nice to her. Because Maria  _ knew  _ that with how the scientist treated her. Heck, the first person that was  _ nice  _ to her was Nails.

Nothing was going to be ok. This wasn’t ok. None of this was ok.

Maria wondered if she was going to even be alive after this. She wondered what she was going to  _ do  _ after this.

Maria didn’t know what she was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nails Baton is Rouge's grandmother/mother! I haven't really decided on it yet... but anyways: maybe that's how Rouge got her job working with the president... it's simple a family trade!
> 
> Bonus: Nails' is the prototype name for Rouge! Similar story with Terios' name... as Terios was Shadow's prototype name! It's Latin, meaning "Reflection of".
> 
> Speaking of Terios she will... not show up next chapter! On a side note: Terios/Maria's theme is "Russian Roulette" by Red Velvet. No deeper meaning to it, but I think it fits her.
> 
> Next up... it's a Race to the Cannon's Core!


	19. Race to the Cannon's Core

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My name is Amy Rose. I'm cute, and full of energy! Something horrible has happened! Professor Gerald activated his program a long time ago. Activating that program has caused the Space Colony to fall out of its orbit. Now it's on a crash course to the Earth! It looks like Eggman has tricked Terios. He's such an evil Doctor. I wanna yell at him. But first, we need to stop the Space Colony from falling! We decided to team up, and go to the Colony's core to stop the power of the Chaos Emeralds. We don't have much time left! Hang on everybody, let's do it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi so! the eggman and tails part was written by my good friend 890 on twitter ... since im extremely horrible at writing mech fighting.  
> follow him on twitter @Joshua890smith... PLEASE he was a great help in this.

**_BELIEVE IN ME_ ** _ for once Dr  _ **_E.G.G.M.A.N_ ** _ (EGGMAN AND TAILS) _

“ **System alert! System alert! The intruder has breached the system area! Initiate debug program!** ” The computer rang out as Tails entered the well… System Area. It was a old, 

(Oh, and Eggman was there with him too.)

“Alright, Tails! Now, destroy the security door leading to the Cannon's Core.”

Tails didn’t need the scientist’s orders to drive him, that feeling from before the one given to him by Sonic’s apparent last words still rang through him as he armed his cannon eviscerating the blast door in front of him.

Through the blast came the Ark’s defense system -- now turning hostile to everyone inside they’d follow suit with the door they came through.

“Targets Locked” chirped his mech before a volley of blasts shot out hitting each target center mass disabling each, wasting no time the mech-pilot kept pushing forward blasting and running through the corridors and bots in his way.

Descending deeper and deeper towards the cannon’s core Tails’s communicator rang out with a reminder.

“Ok, Tails there should be a security door in that room, Destroy It!” 

The sound of Metal on Metal screeched as Tails drifted into position, his cannon charged he blasted through layer after layer of reinforced steel until only an empty hole remained.

“BREACH DETECTED” A stray light caught Tails’s attention as a blast from above nearly clipped his head, kicking his mechs thrusters on he began evasive maneuvers as 3 full sized security droids rained from above.

The three droids kept up pressure by pelting shots at the mobile fox, focused on dodging he kept his finger on the trigger counting the targeting system’s beeps. 

“1, 2, 3!” releasing the trigger a triple blast split off searing through the metal security team. 

Nuts and Bolts went flying as Tails kept up his momentum heading through the door and closer to the core.

* * *

“All Right, now it’s _my_ turn!” 

The Eggman blasted through a door in an opposite corridor where three Shielded guards waited to greet him. No matter, all it takes is a little curve in the blast and, BOOM! Three bots down, it was a shame this tech had to go to waste, but unfortunately the world needed to be saved and Ivo just had to help. 

Another round of guards disposed of and another door taken down lead the doctor to an elevator shaft. He locked his mechs footing to the platform as it began to rise.

Drones began pouring into the shaft from every opening, another round of target practice for the doctor. Flipping a switch, the missile turrets on both sides of his mech sprung up with a new slew of artillery, the red button popped out of its socket. 

Ivo raised his fist into the air, “FIRE!” he slammed his fist into the button ducking into his mech as the tunnel was filled with a glorious display of explosions and bolts.

The scientist reached his stop, the door already long gone from his single attack, two imperfect Chaos replicas awaited him and were dispatched with the same enthusiasm.

Another casm awaited him as he followed the route he had laid out, leaping downward he used his jets to slow his descent picking off the guards from above, a hall full of drones and other countermeasures stood in his way, but not for long.

Skidding close to the ground he used his mech’s main cannon to pick off multiple bunched targets while using his personal blaster to target those above him, each bot and genetic abomination was left atomized by his assault. 

Another door but this time led to a room full of toxic waste jetting over it wasn’t an issue, until he flew too far with nothing but an acid floor to greet him. The Egghead frantically glanced around him looking for a ledge to save himself, he spotted a moving block and kicked his thrusters on blasting himself towards it, he nearly skidded off the moving block but managed to latch on by locking his Mech’s feet to the block. 

The block rose to another door the doctor was glad to see his slight miscalculation didn’t throw him too off course, leaping into the corridor it was full of moving blocks and drones. Ducking around and under blocks and enemy fire the mad scientist made his way through blasting and crushing everything the arc threw at him.

Another shaft greeted him at the end deciding not to waste anytime he leaped past the elevator using his thrusters to avoid lasers and imperfect chaos replicas he reached the bottom another chamber full of acid, breaching another door his comm link kicked on.

“Great work, Eggman! There should be a security door somewhere in that room!” he didn’t need the child to point out the obvious, with a charged shot he melted the door and without wasting a second entered the gap.

* * *

**_Unknown from M.E.,_ ** _ but I can  _ **_Fly in the Freedom_ ** _ (KNUCKLES) _

* * *

“ _ Knuckles! Can you hear me?”  _ Rouge's voice rang through Knuckles’ transceiver. 

Knuckles clicked the button to respond. “I hear you loud and clear.”

_ “The last security door to the core should be in front of you! Find the switch that opens the door! _ ” 

There in front of him as he entered, was a pool of… orange… water? It sure didn’t smell all that pleasant. 

So, Knuckles ran head first into the water, turning on the air necklace he obtained in the mines. In the depths below were four large towers along with two entrances -- one blocked from him even entering.

The only tower that mattered was the tallest of the four. There, at the tip, was the… clock… switch…  _ thing _ , which stopped time momentarily. 

Clicking it on, time stopped moving. The gate that was blocked off, was now opened for Knuckles to swim through. 

The Chaos Timer started clicking down, but thankfully -- Knuckles swam into the next room.

“ _ Knuckles! I found the switch on the radar. The security door control switch is accessible from the other waterway over there _ .”

* * *

_ WITH YOUR  _ **_SWEET PASSION_ ** _ , I’M A  _ **_LOOK-A-LIKE_ ** _ THAT CAN GO  _ **_SUPERSONIC_ ** _ (MECHA AND AMY) _

* * *

Amy entered the final facility once she got the alert from Knuckles. Mecha Sonic’s internal radio chirped on. And… jeez, the damn place was flooded to her knees. The fluid was this… weird bright orange color. 

Absolutely  _ gross,  _ in her opinion.

“ _ Mecha Sonic! Amy! Get past the energy field to get to the core. You're our last chance. We're depending on you! _ ” Eggman explained. 

Amy nodded at Mecha Sonic. “AFFIRMATIVE, CREATOR.” He answered. “NEW PRIORITY ADDED. GET PAST ENERGY FIELD. CONTINUE TO PROTECT PINK HEDGEHOG.”

“Thanks…” Amy groaned. Sure, she needed protecting in the past — when she was  _ eight  _ and  _ didn’t have a piko piko hammer. _

Mecha Sonic picked her up — which was easy, considering the guy was  _ solid metal _ . 

“H-Hey!” Amy squeaked. “You threatened me like, an hour ago!”

Mecha Sonic walked forward. “PAST PRIORITY. CURRENT PRIORITY: PROTECT PINK HEDGEHOG, ORDERED BY THE INFERIOR SONIC.” Ugh. Amy forgot Sonic said that. 

Blast that cruel old doctor and giving Mecha Sonic the orders of well… accepting orders from anyone.

“I can fight, you know!” Amy protested. “New priority: let me down.”

Mecha Sonic’s visor scanned for a second… probably processing? Amy wasn’t all that knowledgeable on robots. “AFFIRMATIVE. PRIORITY ADDED: LETTING PINK HEDGEHOG DOWN.”

Amy patted her dress down. “ _ Thank you, _ ” She walked next to the bulky android. “The core is up ahead, right?”

“AFFIRMATIVE.” Mecha Sonic answered. “THE CORE IS THREE SECTIONS AWAY.”

Amy felt something off. The feeling in her chest was… similar to when she encountered Zero, or when Perfect Chaos attacked Station Square…

She glanced at one of the panels lining the grey metal walls. It was a faded, black placard with blue text.

_ WARNING! THE FOLLOWING CONTAINMENT ROOM HOUSES ARTIFICIAL CHAOS P-100. PLEASE MONITOR TO PREVENT THE ARTIFICIAL CHAOS P-100 FROM MULTIPLYING. IT’S BASED ON THE DEITY OF AN ANCIENT ECHIDNA CULTURE- THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION, CHAOS. _

Oh joy. That was why. Amy sure did hate her psychic intuition. She had noticed the… well, note under the placard. Written with a sharpie and in a girlish cursive. It also had a small doodle of a blonde little girl holding hands with a black and red… mobian? 

_ Please stay safe everyone! Shadow and I wish you all a Merry Christmas! :) _

_ -HEAD SCIENTIST GRANDDAUGHTER, MARIA ROBOTNIK AND PROJECT SHADOW _

Oh… that was…. depressing.

Mecha Sonic scanned it as he walked next to her. “DO NOT BE AFRAID.” He said aloud as he raised his buster. “MY PRIORITY IS TO KEEP YOU SAFE. THE ARTIFICIAL CHAOS WILL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME TO HURT YOU.”

Amy ran up ahead, hammer readied (don’t ask where she keeps it). “You realize the ‘Artificial Chaos’ is based on the  _ God of Destruction  _ Chaos?” She breathed, as she reached the containment center door. “You can’t just fight an artificial god!”

“I AM THE SUPERIOR SONIC. I DO NOT LOSE.” Mecha Sonic boasted proudly, scanning the room. 

Amy almost felt the urge to say  _ Well, you lost to Knuckles _ … but she didn’t.

“ADDED PRIORITY BY SELF: DEFEAT ARTIFICIAL GOD.” Mecha Sonic said before shooting the door open. 

Amy ran behind Mecha Sonic, preparing any frontal attack… he did say he’d protect her, so...

There was nothing in the room. Empty and dark… and clearly dusty. Just like the rest of the ARK… jeez. However, the exit was… gated off be an electrical field.

Until a blue liquid spilled out. It formed into a concrete being.

And then another.

And another.

And another.

Until the room was filled with bricks and blocks of Chaos clones. Mecha Sonic scanned the room, making Amy go tense. 

“THERE IS A CHAOS TIMER HERE. THE GATE IS ONLY CLOSED WHEN IT SENSE MOTION.” He chirped, aiming his blaster at the roof -- where a black clock was located. “MY PRIORITY…” A pause. “...IS TO PROTECT YOU.” 

The android said, lifting the girl up. 

“Hey, what are you doing!?” 

Mecha Sonic glanced at her before shooting. “PROTECTING YOU.” 

Next thing she knew, was that she was standing outside of the room. Amy was also holding one of Mecha Sonic’s gauntlets. Yellow and gaudy...

“Mecha Sonic!” She yelled. Mecha Sonic was… a killer robot, yes, but Amy could still feel the horror of what was definitely going to the android. “Don’t do this!”

The robot laughed. “IT IS ALL UP TO YOU, PINK HEDGEHOG. GO ON, HELP THE INFERIOR SONIC.” He announced, giving her a thumbs up. He turned back to the Chaos monsters ready to attack him.

Another laugh. “I AM NOT TRAPPED IN A ROOM WITH YOU.” The android yelled as she ran away, water slowing her down.

“ **_YOU ARE TRAPPED IN A ROOM WITH ME!_ ** ”

That was last she heard from the robot, before she heard an explosion.

Amy hated how she felt herself cry.

This… hurt as badly as Gamma.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Knuckles section was a fun intermission!  
> Next up is a chapter of my forte... two people talking!   
> Also, yeah this was three hours long in fic. 
> 
> also sorry about mecha sonic dying :(


	20. I am... All of me.

Terios was in the Research Facility… just, doing nothing. There wasn’t a reason for her to do anything. There was no stopping the ARK.

Of course, Sonic was pacing outside the RF, guarding the Master Emerald. Terios heard him grumbling about… something.

“Terios, we need you.” Terios heard the blue hedgehog call, and walked up to her - looking into the stars with her. “You have to help us!”

Teerios felt a smile growing on her face. “It's all going according to plan. There's no reason for me to help them. Besides, there's no way to save anyone.” She answered.

“There’s always away!” Sonic argued. “Listen, I know people fight over the most trivial things. Some people may be selfish, like the professor said…” He paused. “But they're basically good, if of course… they try their best and never give up on their wishes.” 

He grabbed her hands, looking her in the eyes. “They always have a reason to be happy; that's why you should help them out! Saving them is a good thing!” 

Terios froze. 

“Terios, please do it for them!” Sonic pleaded. “Give them a chance!”

* * *

Her mind went back to the last time she saw Shadow. The red lights flashing around her, the gun fire faint in the background.

Shadow was dying, trying to breathe as he bled onto the center console.  _ “Maria... I beg of you... please, do it for me... for a better future… _ ”

Maria slapped her palm against the capsule. “ _ Shadow! _ ” She cried.

Shadow voice cracked. “ _ For all the people who live on that planet... give them a chance to be happy. Let them live for their dreams _ .” He paused. “ _ Maria, I know you can do it… That's the reason that you were brought into this world! _ ” He called, pushing the button that brought Maria to earth.

“ _ Sayonara, Maria Robotnik. _ ” He mumbled. “ _ You... will give the world…  _ **hope** .”

* * *

Her mind snapped back to reality. Terios… was not what Shadow wanted. 

She was Maria. She was… always Maria.

Maria… that was… all of her.

“That's what I've promised him... I must keep that promise... That's what Shadow wished for…” Maria said softly, a tear dripping down her face.

“Shadow?” Sonic repeated.

A simple phrase flashed on the control panel… the same control panel Shadow used all those years ago. Perhaps… This was her brother’s way of helping her beyond the grave.

_ MASTER EMERALD SHRINE - UNLOCKED _

Maria looked at Sonic, alerting him to the alert on the control panel. “We have to go now!” 

Sonic followed her as Maria, grabbing the Master Emerald on his way out. “So… you’re on our side…?”

“I have to keep my promises!” Maria answered, leading Sonic to the shrine… which was deep in the ARK. “So… yes!”

_ That promise I made to Shadow fifty years ago… and the promise I made now, to you.. _

Maria knew what she must do now.

Protect the Earth.


	21. This is for Supporting Me, Knight of the Wind.

Maria made it to the Core finally -- along with Sonic. Of course, there they saw was the… girl with pink hair, at the entrance. 

Who was… completely drenched. And looked… as she just got done crying? That was... relatable. Maria did find herself crying a couple hours ago. Although, she wasn't completely soaking wet.

There, at the center… was a raised area that resembles the Master Emerald's shrine. Apparently, according to Sonic’s rushed explanation, there was an identical shrine on a floating island called  _ Angel Island _ .

She would like to go there sometime. Maria was getting absolutely  _ sick  _ of space.

Amy pointed at the shrine. “What's that? It looks just like the shrine of the Master Emerald!”

Maria stepped back. “It was designed like the shrine to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds.” She answered, looking at the girl.

Of course, she and Sonic began running to the platform. With Sonic still holding the Master Emerald. And he… sneezed? But like, it wasn't an actual sneeze? Kinda like... a blank shot from a gun.

“Um!” Maria felt herself squeaked. “Sonic, er- God bless you?”

Sonic smiled kept moving. “No need for that, I just 'sneeze' when I…”

They both stopped dead in their tracks when that recording of… Gerald Robotnik... started playing again.

" _ All of you ungrateful humans, who took everything away from me, will feel my loss and despair _ !"

Maria felt her body go stiff. God, why did she ever listen to her grandfather? With her memories of G.U.N. coming back to her, Maria  _ remembers  _ slowly starting to not trust her grandfather.

“...I sense something bad happening.” Sonic paused, to shake his head. “ _ Sonuva…  _ Here it comes!” 

Dozens of Gerald's images fly throughout the room. Repeating the message, over and over and over again. It just… kept stinging her mind, like a thousand wasps.

" _ All of you ungrateful humans, who took everything away from me, will feel my loss and despair! _ " Maria felt her body flinch, as a light flashes. 

And there before them was… what she remembered being called the ‘Biolizard’. A giant, humongous salamander with deformed legs, and apparently was . It let off a menacing screech.

**BIOLIZARD**

**PROTOTYPE OF THE ULTIMATE LIFE**

She shook her head. “That’s… the prototype of Shadow?”

_ How did it go from a giant-ass lizard to a three foot tall hedgehog?  _ Maria thought. 

“It looks like Chaos! This’ll be a cake walk.” Sonic laughed, giving her the Master Emerald. “Leave  _ this  _ one to me. I'll take care of this, while you run to get the Chaos Emeralds!”

“Sonic, what're you doing?!” She yelled, as he walked up below the Biolizard. “No, that’s why Amy is here!” 

Amy squawked, pointing at herself. “M-me!?” 

Maria nodded, looking at the girl. “Go, we’ll deal with this!” She ordered, running towards Sonic. And… well, Amy ran towards the eclipse cannon.

Sonic gave a thumbs up. “Let’s do it to it!”

“Um, ok!” 

The Biolizard roared, shooting out orbs of electricity. Maria skated away, having the giant lizard waddle after her. 

She faced the jumbo lizard. “ **Chaos Spear!** ” Maria cried, feeling the energy pulsate in her arm. Aiming it at the pulsating tumor on Biolizards back.

Maria vaguely remembered learning about the Biolizard at G.U.N., how it was the failed prototype of Shadow -- how it had too many tumors in its body to live. Hell, from her knowledge, it only survived  _ because  _ of the life support system attached to it.

Regardless of its history, the spear of chaos energy landed onto the prototype. The Biolizard gave a blood-curdling scream. 

“Sonic!” Maria called out, skating towards him. “There’s a rail guard for the core on its back, if you get on to it, you’ll be able to homing attack it!”

The blue blur immediately nodded, out speeding the prototype -- as the giant lizard began to slow to a crawl, exhausted. Doing as told (and almost as he had an aiming reticle), Sonic honed in on the purple and bulging tumor on the lizard’s back.

The blur bounced off, landing on the ground. The Biolizard shook and seized, roaring in pain. Maria in response, readied another blast of energy. She had grown much better at storing chaos energy within her, rather than relying on a Chaos Emerald.

“ **Chaos Spear!** ” She called out, shooting the Biolizard.

In retaliation, the Biolizard used it’s tail to smack Maria -- which it did, flinging her to the entrance of the core.

She stood up weakly, Immediately finding herself face to face with Amy -- holding the seven Chaos Emeralds. 

“Um, I…” The Hedgehog mumbled sheepishly. “I got the Chaos Emeralds!”

Maria grabbed the Master Emerald, which was… quite heavy. Well, this’ll be hard to run with. So to mitigate it, she grabbed the lemon colored Chaos Emerald and Amy’s hand.

“Chaos Control!” Maria cried.

_ Bring me to the steps of the Master Emerald altar! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did Sonic sneeze when the Biolizard showed up? Well, early in Sonic media (around Sonic 1 to CD), Sonic had an extra super power... the Sonic Sense! It's like the spidey sense (and if you don't know what that is -- basically an early warning system) but instead of a headache, Sonic sneezes.  
> This video talks about and explains it more detail! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VtFldF75B0


	22. Live and Learn

Maria ran towards the altar along with Amy. Maria placed the Master Emerald in place, with the pink hedgehog putting the seven Chaos Emeralds in place.

She grabbed Amy’s wet shoulders. “Get out of here!” Maria ordered. “The Research Facility is the safest place on the ARK at the moment!”

_ Because if Sonic and I fail, it’s the first place that’ll impact the Earth...  _

“O-okay!” The pink hedgehog nodded, running out of the room. “That’s where everyone else is too!”

She breathed, as she turned toward the altar, closing her eyes.. Maria remembered the prayer her grandfather had taught her -- years before she touched an emerald. She vaguely remembers entering the shrine when she was younger.

Another inhale before looking at the Master Emerald.

“The servers are the seven Chaos. Chaos is power; power is enriched by the heart.” She spread her arms. “The controller is the one that unifies the Chaos.”

Before her, the Master Emerald spans rapidly while emitting a green aura. Several mixed energies dash around, almost like fireworks. It reminded her of the first time she used chaos control.

She breathed in again.

“...Only you can do this; please stop the Chaos Emeralds!”

Biolizard screeches loudly, making the ARK shake lightly. If it’s able to shake the ARK like that… That’s kind of… horrific.

After shrieking again, a bright light flashes -- nearly blinding Maria in the shear intensity of the flash. 

When Maria rubbed her eyes open, Sonic had zipped up to her.

“Is it gone?” Was her immediate question. “Did you…”  _ Did you kill it? _

Sonic shook his head. “I think he used... Chaos Control?”

As if in response to Sonic, the Ark shook violently -- which had Maria fall over. Thankfully, Sonic caught her. It almost felt… nice being caught by someone.

She stood back. “But we stopped the Chaos Emeralds, why is the Space Colony still on a crash course to earth?!” She paused. “I mean, it probably wouldn’t have fixed anything, but…”

A noise rang through the speakers. “ _ The Prototype is still alive! _ ” Eggman’s voice rang out. “ _ He's controlling the Space Colony as it is falling to earth! He has become one with the Space Colony, and is determined to keep it on its collision course! _ ”

Maria glanced at Sonic, who was staring at the emerald intensely.

“Sonic…?”

Sonic breathed in. “We may have to go super to defeat it.”

“Go… super?” She asked, tilting her head. 

Sonic nodded. “Using the seven chaos emeralds, all at the same time.”

Maria blinked. She’s only ever used  _ one  _ emerald… but using seven of them? Maria hardly could use two Chaos Emeralds, and she was expecting to mess up the Master Emerald’s prayer. “I… don’t know if I could do that.” She mumbles, uncomfortably. 

“If you can use one, you can use all seven of ‘em.” Sonic replied, tense. “Just follow my lead.”

Sonic raised his hand into the air, which Maria copied. The seven Chaos Emeralds encircled them... which in response, Sonic began to recite the -  _ the Master Emerald -  _ prayer.

“The servers are the seven Chaos…” He spoke.

Maria repeated, breathing in awkwardly. “The servers are the seven Chaos…”

“Chaos is power, enriched by our hearts and mind…”

Next, it just felt natural to her. They both closed their eyes and focused, in perfect sync. Maria felt her breathe becoming slowed, to a near uncomfortable pace.

Maria could barely make out what happened, her eyes closed. The emeralds spun around her -- looking like flashes of multicolored light under her eyelids.

Opening her eyes with Sonic, the Emeralds channeled the energy into the two. It almost felt like being in water with a toaster - energy sparked into Maria, her skin tingle and her going frizzy. She glanced back at Sonic, who was still standing next to her. 

“ **We, the controller, exist to unify the chaos and keep peace for generations to come!** ”

Energy pulsed through her body, transforming her and Sonic into… well, what Sonic probably meant by going ‘Super’. Super Sonic -- what she could make out -- had gold colored fur, with intense red eyes.

And herself… Super Maria, what she could tell turned her bobcut of hair turned from blonde-on-red to cream-on-white.

“ **Chaos control!** ” They both yelled together -- with a single destination in mind. 

A quick warp outside to the abyss of space. Maria almost found herself contemplating the last time she was in space (aside from her fight with Sonic earlier) -- falling from space, just seconds after seeing Shadow dying…

She wondered how Sonic felt at this --  _ he almost died here, not once, but twice... _

But she had to focus on the most important thing happening to her  _ now.  _ Outside the ARK, to deal with the last thing standing in her way. 

* * *

**The Finalhazard.**

**THE PROTOTYPE OF THE ULTIMATE LIFE**

* * *

Which was Biolizard, now fused into the Eclipse Cannon -- it’s tumors now bulging out of its body, pulsating a sickening purple. It’s body, shaking and seizing. It’s voice, strained and hoarse.

She shook her head. How foul.

Eggman chirped over the radio, probably for the final time. “ _ Sonic, Terios! Can you hear me? He's very weak without his life support system. Aim for the red swelling area to damage him! You're our last hope!” _

“ **Got it!** ” Sonic chirped, with Maria nodding with him. “ **Alright, here we go!** ” Sonic yelled, zooming himself into one of the various tumors. That was probably that… spin dash thing he did.

Maria followed suit. “.. **Yea!** ”

_ Can you feel life, movin' through your mind? _

_ Ooh, looks like it came back for more! _

A laser emitting from Finalhazards body, aiming for Maria. She dashed out of the way, only getting lighting grazed from it on her shoes. 

“ **Chaos spear!** ” She yelled, aiming for one of the tumors in retaliation. 

It pierced, making the monster scream.

_ Yeah, yeah, yeah! _

_ Can you feel time, slippin' down your spine? _

_ Oooh, you try and try to ignore! _

Sonic did the same but… in a rapid succession. And not with an arrow of Chaos Energy of course, with his own spin dash. She wondered if Sonic could do the same with Chaos Energy...

She flew near him, which was weird to her. Maria never imagined herself flying. Then again, she never expected doing  _ any  _ of this. Blowing up a planet, robbing not one but  _ two  _ banks, nearly destroying the planet… god. 

Maria couldn’t think about that now. 

_ But you can hardly swallow _

_ Your fears and pain! _

_ When you can't help but follow _

_ It puts you right back where you came! _

“ **Here I come, you creep!** ” She yelled, trying to do that… spin dash thing Sonic does. 

Of course, she doesn’t curl into a ball. Because she’s sure, due to her anatomy, that she can’t exactly curl into a ball like a hedgehog. Maria, however, does charge another chaos spear, this time it… looked more like an arrow of light.

It emitted a red light, and fired a laser near Maria -- knocking her into Sonic. Thankfully, the blue hedgehog grabbed her before she could float off into the abyss of space.

_ Live and learn! _

_ Hanging on the edge of tomorrow _

_ Live and learn! _

_ From the works of yesterday! _

“ **Where does he get all that power? Is this the power of the Chaos Emeralds?** ” Sonic asked, letting Maria go. He shook his head.  **“Maria, are you okay?”**

“ **I-I’m fine.** ” Maria caught her breath. “ **And… we can’t think about that now, I don’t think we have all that much time left.** ” She zoomed forward, charging another chaos spear.

_ Shadow... watch me! I  _ **_will_ ** _ fulfill your wish! _

_ Live and learn! _

_ If you beg or if you borrow _

_ Live and learn! _

_ You may never find your way _

Blasting it forward towards the screaming lizard. 

She continued blasting the tumor, feeling herself grow more and more exhausted. Weirdly enough, it was her full body -- just Maria’s arms.

Sonic did the same, continuously using his super-powered honing attack. “ **We're almost done!** ” Sonic yelled flying back to where Maria was, seemingly just as exhausted. 

Sonic panted. “ **There’s… no way that's getting through!** ” He yelled. The blue hedgehog shook his head as he breathed in. 

“ **Hahaha, Sonic!** ” She said as she nodded. “ **I think I've discovered** **_what_ ** **the ultimate life form is…** ” 

“ **_It’s you!_ ** ”

_ There's a face searching far, so far and wide _

_ There's a place where you dream you'd never find _

_ Hold on to what if? _

_ Hold on to what if? _

Sonic looked Maria dead in the eyes as she said that, smiling. “ **Now, Terios!** ” It’s weird. Maria doesn’t even associate that name with her. 

Shadow’s voice rang in Maria’s ears. This time, she didn’t feel bad about hearing it.

“ _ Maria, I beg of you… _ ” 

_ Shadow!  _

_ “ _ _ Please, give them all… a chance to be  _ **_happy_ ** _! _ ”

_ I will. Don’t worry. _

She knew what she must do. A voice beyond the grave, reminding her of a promise she must fulfill.

With Sonic at her side, the two both zoomed to the ARK, bathing it in a yellow light. She felt her body giving it her all.

_ “ _ **_Chaos Control!_ ** _ ” _

They ram into the ARK, which hurts even in this godly state. The ARK was bathed in the light of Chaos Control. 

The Finalhazard was gone, becoming like dust -- drifting off into the abyss of space.

“ **Did you really think you had a chance?!** ” Sonic said triumphantly.

Maria laughed, nodding her head. “ **I promise to destroy all the evil that my grandfather created!** ”

And suddenly, Maria felt weak. It began to hurt just… breathing. Haha. How ironic that she...

That she was… dying? No, she… she still wanted to go on Earth. Maria wanted to give peace to the Earth… for Shadow, for Sonic… for herself.

Why now?

_ Shadow... this is what he would have wanted, right? That promise I made to you… _

Maria held her hand out, feeling herself begin to fall. 

Just like fifty years ago. It felt like the universe was giving her the same fate she avoided fifty years ago.

Maybe… Shadow would be proud of her now.

And Sonic catched her, pulling Maria into him. Almost… hugging her. The boy's excess chaos energy jolted through her body, as they made contact with each other. She still felt tired but she… wasn’t falling anymore. 

She didn’t feel like death, at least.

“ **Chaos… control!** ”

She closed her eyes, hopefully, not for the last time.

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

When she opened her eyes, Maria was laying on the cold ground of the ARK. From her spatial understanding she was… just outside the research center. She nearly screamed in pain when she opened her eyes, but just like always, she held it in.

Once all this is done… she wanted to be herself again.

“Well.” Sonic panted. “That was a scare.”

Maria clutched her head, sitting up. She felt  _ horrible.  _ “What… happened?”

“You ran out of energy.” Sonic answered, calmly. “Happens to the best of us, but you nearly became a teenage-girl shaped comet.”

Maria nodded. “I… see.” It clicked in her head. “You saved me? Why?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Sonic laughed, helping Maria stand up. “I mean, you saved  _ me  _ earlier -- even if we were like, enemies at the time. Heh.”

Maria shook her head. “I just… I guess I just don’t understand why you would save me, of all people.”

The blue hedgehog smiled. “Do I  _ need  _ a reason to save someone?” He laughed. “It’s just what I do. I see someone in distress, I help ‘em.” He laughed. “Hell I saved  _ Egghead  _ a couple times.”

That made her blush.

Sonic laughed. “Right, Terios? I mean, that’s probably why you saved everyone on Earth.”

“Yea.” She paused. “It’s not…  _ I’m  _ not Terios anyway, by the way..” Maria mumbled. “I’m… I’m Maria. Maria Robotnik.”

Sonic smiled. “Maria? Heh, I would never expect you to have such an… I guess, innocent name? Nothing like a bank robber or slayer of giant lizards. Still, it’s nice.” He blushed himself. “I mean, I’m no better…”

Maria tilted her head. “What do you mean?” 

“I’m,” The blue hedgehog sighed as he paused, a light blush forming on his muzzle. “Well, my legal name is  _ Olgilvie-Maurice Hedgehog _ … Sonic’s just my middle name.”

Maria snorted. “Olgilvie-Maurice?” She paused. “What kind of name is  _ that _ ?”

“Yea, yea. It’s practically a family heirloom.” Sonic said, chuckling himself. So maybe he found it funny itself? Well, Maria sure hoped he found it funny, too… she would’ve hated to just have  _ insulted  _ the person that saved her.

“C’mon, we have people waiting for us!”

Maria felt herself smiled. 

And it felt… nice.

* * *

_ Live and learn! _

_ Hanging on the edge of tomorrow! _

_ Live and learn! _

_ From the works of yesterday! _

_ Live and learn! _

_ If you beg or if you borrow! _

_ Live and learn! _

_ You may never find your way! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theres only one more chapter left! Of course, it's only an epilogue.
> 
> Why did Maria survive? Just do


	23. Never Turn Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't just sit there and waste your precious time. When you want to do something, do it right away. Do it when you can. It's the only way to live a life without regrets."

Sonic came into the ARK RF, confident -- but tired. And also a little happy. He did just save the entire planet. Kind of a first, since Station Square and South Island were both wide scale small attacks. But… 

But he was still tired. Perhaps, even, a bit exhausted. Fighting an extremely powerful lizard with Chaos Emerald definitely tires someone out… Hopefully, he doesn’t make a hobby out of this.

Rouge looked at him, terrified. Did she think someone died? “Where’s... Terios?”

Maria smiled, walking in along with Sonic. He noticed that the girl was now just in her spandex, probably ditching her blue tank top before entering. “Rouge…” A pause.

...Especially the scare Maria gave. He was so scared at Maria falling-- even if they started out enemies, he really grew to enjoy her company.

“...It’s Maria now.”

With that, Rouge ran up to the blonde, hugging her. Laughing, too. “Oh thank  _ god! _ ”

This was all a job well done, in Sonic’s opinion.

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“Do you really think…” Amy trailed, standing next to Maria, the girl was standing upright, glancing out into the abyss of space. Amy was also just… staring out into space, Mecha Sonic’s gauntlet still in her hands. It felt… warm, like he was still there.

Which couldn’t be… she… she watched him die. Well  _ heard  _ him die...

“That Dr. Eggman created him -- Mecha Sonic -- to carry out his judgement on all those who live here, on earth?”

“Why do you ask that?”

Amy felt her chest tighten. “Mecha self-destructed to protect me…” She gripped the metal gauntlet in her hands. “This is all that’s left of him.”

Maria gave a smile. Which is… something Amy never saw her do before. “Mecha was... what he was. A brave and heroic artificial hedgehog, who saved your life.” Maria said softly. The girl looked out into space. 

“I was in a similar situation once,” She admitted. A quiet pause. “My… brother, of sorts, died protecting me. It’s terrifying to go through but…” She paused, again, almost looking like she was going to start crying.. “The best way to memorialize them is… to never forget what he did. Mecha Sonic…” Maria smiled. 

Amy nodded at Maria, before glancing down at the gauntlet. 

“I won’t.”

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“As a child, I looked up to my grandfather because of all the great things he accomplished in his life.” Eggman explained, feeling the melancholy grow onto him. 

“He was my hero, and I wanted to be a great scientist like him. But…” He glanced down at his fellow intelect, “did he really mean to destroy us?”

“I… I don’t know.” Tails answered frankly. “My dad did the same thing to my family, although on a lesser scale than all of  _ this  _ of course.” “

Eggman glanced down at the fox. “What did he do?” He said, tempted to add a _If you don't mind me asking._

“My dad was so mad at my mom and I… and I don’t even remember  _ why  _ now. I was just a little kid -- but he… let his anger out on us. It’s kinda why I’m with Sonic now actually.” The fox sniffled, probably suppressing the urge to cry. “And that’s just... how grief is handled sometimes.”

A pause.

“Sometimes, you cope with it.” The fox stared at the center console -- and at Maria. Eggman hated how everything was falling into place what happened to his dear cousin.

“Sometimes, with my dad and Gerald Robotnik… you just get angry, hurting everyone around you.” The fox looked back into space. “All around it just… sucks ass. But the best thing we can do now, is make up for those actions.”

Eggman was blown away at what Tails was saying.

“You’re right.

Despite their moral differences… for once, Eggman felt like he was talking to someone on his own wavelength. Child or not, Tails was insanely smart. It was nice.

The fox smiled. “And to be honest, I don’t know much about trauma. Psychology isn’t exactly my expertise. But what I do know-” He laughed. 

“Is that we did this together!”

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Knuckles walked towards Rouge. “So what's next for you, Rouge? Off again to find those jewels you love so much?”

Rouge shook her head. “Jewels, not so much. I might stay in this line of work, though. I hear G.U.N. has some open positions. Apparently for a strike force…” She smiled, glancing over at Maria before looking down to the Earth below her. “But at the moment, I think I’ve had enough for the time being.”

“Makes sense.” Knuckles paused. “But what about jewels? I thought they were all yours?”

Rouge glanced at Knuckles. “I've got something better than jewels that I'm thinking about right now.” She laughed.

“I can see it now -- retiring with my partner, Topaz…” She laughed. “Or maybe just getting married. I wouldn’t mind just being a battle couple with her! But either way, it'll all work out, you'll see.”

Knuckles smiled. Despite their initial hostility, he actually enjoyed Rouge’s company now. “I’d love to see it.” He paused. “If you two do get married, send me an invite to the wedding? I do remember a certain echidna saving your life…” 

“Haha!” Rouge laughed. “Maybe your gift for my wedding should be the  _ Master Emerald _ !”

The echidna felt himself snort, despite not finding joking about the Master Emerald funny. But maybe this one time, after saving the world from total devastation. “Heh, not in a million years!” 

The bat pretending to look disappointed. “Oh, I thought I had you this time!” The woman said jokingly, while smiling. “I’ll try to get it next time. It’ll be the centerpiece of my collection! But maybe I’ll just settle for a Chaos Emerald as an engagement ring...”

“An all powerful gem on a ring? Sounds fancy.”

Rouge smiled. “Well, the gem sure is powerful, but I think it’s more powerful for what it’s for.”

> \--｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“Created... the Ultimate Life Form...” Sonic mumbled. That caught Maria’s attention. Despite their initial rivalry she… grew to appreciate him. Sonic reminded her so much of Shadow… of course, not because the two were hedgehogs.

Maybe because… Sonic saved her, just like Shadow...

“Sonic?” She asked softly, walking towards the hedgehog who saved her. “You ok?”

Sonic smiled, glancing at her. “Oh, it's nothing. Come on! Let's go to Earth!” He smiled as he walked out of the room with everyone else. “ _ To the planet as cool and blue as me!”  _

Maria smiled. “I’ll be there in a second!” She laughed. That was… something she liked doing. Maria  _ missed _ laughing. Liked being happy again. Sure, she didn’t have Shadow with her… physically. She remembered what she told Amy…

Maria couldn’t forget him. 

Maria glanced back at the glass she had looked at so many years ago. She felt… it was time for her to let go. Mirroring the original goodbye… years ago. 

She breathed in, hoping she wouldn’t cry. Well, maybe it wasn’t that bad to cry. Thinking about it, Maria always would cry on the ark. Because… It's what made her human. What made her… Maria.

She breathed in, again, ready for anything.

“Goodbye… everyone… the scientists, the researchers, grandfather...” She paused, feeling a tear fall down her face. Even if her grandfather was insane, the mastermind behind all of this… 

She still loved him. Just like Eggman, sure, mad scientist and all… they… 

They were still her family. They would… always be her family.

“And… sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog.”

Maria wiped the tear from her cheek. She felt herself… a bit impatient now, because for once, Maria wanted to see Earth -- the planet she saved. 

The planet she always wanted to go to. She wondered where she would go first… but before she could think about that, she had to actually move.

So, Maria decided to leave the ARK.

For the final time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Rest well, heroes...)
> 
> Thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this, even if it just a Sonic Fanfic.

**Author's Note:**

> this is a dumb au ive had in my mind for while,


End file.
